


One Piece (Love Story)

by Punklovergirl68



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), One Piece
Genre: A bit of a weak opening, Adventure, Angst, But it does start to pick up around the Drum Island Arc, But things do get serious, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, I ain't that great at writing fight scenes, I first wrote this back in 2014 so it's probably not that great, I like the idea of him being a little possessive and pervy with someone he likes, I will explain why there are Kingdom Hearts characters, Main focus tends to be on the emotions and interactions, More like childhood crushes that never went away, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pervy Roronoa Zoro, Possessive Roronoa Zoro, Romance, Skylar has issues, Skylar is sarcastic, Skylar is sweet and protective, Somewhat love at first sight but not really, Story will follow the Anime, This is going to be a long story so be prepared, Zoro and Skylar were childhood friends, this story is for fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 71,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26120734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punklovergirl68/pseuds/Punklovergirl68
Summary: For years Skylar's been haunted with the memories of her past, unable to let it all go and move on. All hope seems to be lost for her until the day she meets the Straw Hats, can they help her pick up the pieces and finally move on? Takes place before they enter the Grand Land and follows the anime.This story is also on:Fanfiction.net  under Punklovergirl68Wattpad under Punklovergirl68 (it is split up into two parts so far due to Wattpad's 200 chapter limit)Note: I am aware that the title is a little weak, but when I had first written this, it was the only title that I could come up with. I've had it for this long, so I might as well just stick with it and embrace it. Also, this story was written way back in 2014 when I was 15 and still getting into the hang of writing...so, if you've read my other stories and are wondering why this one doesn't compare that well, that's why. This is a story that I do adore and have been having fun writing all these years, so I hope that you all can enjoy it as well despite its obvious flaws.One Piece belongs to Eiichiro OdaKingdom Hearts belongs to Tetsuya NomuraSkylar and any other OCs belong to me
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter One

Sucking in a sharp breath of air, I released it all in one big tired sigh as I laid there sprawled over the lowest hanging branch of the tree I had recently climbed in some attempt to hide myself away so that I could be left alone. My back painfully shifting around occasionally in some desperate attempt to get comfortable despite how rough and uneven the bark felt beneath me as I boredly peered through the leaves of the tree and up at the cloudless sky.

"How can people even bother taking naps up here? This is uncomfortable" I grumbled when I realized that the concept of getting comfortable was nonexistent the longer I began to shift myself around. "Why is it so boring today?" I groaned, my head tilted back and my arms dangling from either side of me as I continued to listen to the peaceful silence of today—normally something was always happening on the island…mainly something bad, but that was beside the point. "Maybe I should just head back to the restaurant…" I snorted at the idea, what was the point of even hiding this far out from the village if I was just going to go back there? Shifting around once more, I soon sat up and carefully lowered myself from the branch until my feet touched the ground.

Placing my hands on my hips, I peered around me—head twisting left and right as I looked from the trail that would lead me back towards the village to the surrounding woodlands. There were other trails, many that were covered in overgrowth due to the lack of use as not many people from the village liked to wander this far out. I don't know why, with how peaceful and lovely nature could be, I saw no reason to heavily avoid it just because of the risks one takes in getting lost or encountering any of the not so friendly animals of the forest.

"Hm, which way? Which way?" I softly hummed as I continued to look around before finally opting to take a certain trail that looked to be a mixture of well used, but at the same time, not used enough for too big of an imprint to be left behind. At the very end of the small trail was a hill that lead up to the very edge of a cliffside—one that gave such a beautiful view of the shoreline and wide open sea…it was my favorite spot to come to whenever I felt the need to just sit and stare. There was something oddly calming about the sight of the waves—something calming about how there were days that they'd gently lap against the sandy shores and days were they'd violent crash down and desperately attempt to swallow whole whatever had the misfortune of being in its way. Plopping down onto the ground, I softly sighed as I watched the calming waves of today as if the sea herself was peacefully content with how quiet today was.

' _Wonder what it would be like to go on an adventure_ ' I hummed in contentment at the blissful thought the longer I stared out towards the sea. Despite how dangerous she could be—how cruel she could be towards those that were inexperienced or recklessly set out to sea without any real direction—she was also merciful at times. Her mercy being what lead my brothers and me here about four years ago…a sort of mercy that I still didn't know if I should be thankful for or not. Heaving another sigh, I found myself falling back onto my back as I reached a hand up and pressed it against my face as if attempting to rub away how tired I truly felt at the moment. Just barely did the tips of my fingers brush against the bandana that was wrapped tightly around my head in some desperate attempt to contain my hair and make it almost appear shorter than it really was—make it appear more boyish than what it really was.

God how I hated this thing, it made hot days unbearable and it made my head itch every time stray strands of hair would sneak their way out from underneath and lightly brush against the flesh of my face. I know I could easily solve the problem by just simply cutting away all the hair…but I'd rather suffer than have to do what that idiotic asshole wanted. It's bad enough I have to wear the restrictive binder that painfully pressed my breasts down in a vague attempt at making me appear flat-chested.

"No one can take a female swordsman seriously" I mockingly muttered underneath my breath as I repeated the words the villager leader's eldest son, Aaron, said to me that day three years ago as he tossed this binder my way after rudely barging into my brothers and mine shack…but I mean, he wasn't exactly wrong. There were days when I'd look in the mirror and scoff at the sight of me—a was small, maybe to some I would be considered average height for my age, but at the same time I was smaller compared to most women I've met with a few exceptions here and there. I found it ridiculous the day Aaron had proposed that stupid little game of his three years to this day to the entire village—a game he promised would bring in more money, he promised would make outsiders think twice before setting foot on this island, he promised would be fun and entertaining to all. It was such a simple game yet also one that was cruel due to how most of the people that would stop by this island were just normal, everyday people in desperate need of restocking because they had understocked on the previous islands or had misjudged and didn't stock up in advance on the previous islands before coming here…though I don't know why people still kept coming here to an island such as this one. The rules of the game were so amazingly simple.

The moment newcomers—whether they be pirates or just ordinary people, it did not matter—stepped foot onto this island, they'd immediately be approached by the leader's son who would then strike up a deal. See, you no longer were allowed to step foot on this island for free, you had to do something in exchange to even be allowed to stay. The outsiders would be asked to send forth who they thought their best fighter was then that person would be pitted against who the villagers have decided is their best fighter…which just so happens to be me. It's not because they genuinely thought that highly of me, no, it's because many of them didn't want to bear that sort of responsibility of either winning or losing the fight—of getting or costing the island money. Aaron claimed that the reason the villagers had set their eyes on me was because they wanted my brothers and me to make it up to them for the hell we've caused them since the day we washed up on their shore. But it wasn't our fault we had to steal to survive because they refused to help us, it wasn't our fault we had to get into fights because they'd get vicious and violent—because they'd allow the other children of the village to seek us out and try and pick fights with us.

Anyway, the two fighters would then be pitted against one another—if the outsiders were to win, they were allowed to stay free of charge on the island, allowed to stock up and do whatever they pleased without having to spend a single beli…but if they lost, they lost almost everything. The villagers will take whatever they so desired from the loser's ship and tell them that if they want their stuff back then they were going have to pay. Of course, eventually, Aaron tweaked the rules a bit when he saw just how hesitant ordinary people were becoming on accepting his deal and began to offer them a second option. He began to tell them that if they didn't want to fight then all they had to do was just pay a nice hefty fee and then they'd get all the same perks that the winner of the fight would…so far, only a few people have accepted this alternative of his and that's only because they just barely had enough beli to afford the fee. The game was cruel, it was a game made up and designed for greedy people that just wanted entertainment and nothing else, that didn't care if they were putting others in a dangerous situation by robbing them of their supplies or money and then shipping them back out to sea…especially if those people had plans on heading towards the Grand Line.

One may wonder why my brothers hadn't been chosen to be the fighter the villagers put forth and why they had just forced me to dress as a man. Well by the time that Aaron had come up with this little game of his, the owner of one of the most popular restaurants in the village had finally decided to have mercy on my brothers and me—or more like he wanted us to make up for the fact that we've been occasionally raiding his trashcans for scraps anytime we'd hit a bad period and couldn't get any food—and give us a job working for him with the promise of at least one free meal and pay. Cloud and Sora were hard workers…well Sora was sometimes a hard worker when he needed to be, but I…I didn't really care. Sure, it was nice that we had a job and now had easy access to food, but that didn't mean I appreciated the snide remarks and customers that decided to act up just because they wanted to make shit more difficult for my brothers and me. Due to how surprisingly well Sora and Cloud do at the restaurant as waiters, the owner of the restaurant wasn't really willing to give them up and let them have free days where they'd be needed to fight like he was me—I was a slob, I was a wreck, I was a lazy bum…I wasn't needed in his opinion due to my lack of caring.

God, I'll never forget the day Aaron came rudely bargaining into my brothers and mine home with this news, I'll never forget the anger in his eyes as he congratulated me as the lucky sap that was chosen before he finally broke down and angrily started shoving a chest binder in my arms and demanding that I start dressing like a man.

_"They won't take us seriously if we put some woman up there against them, we need them to know we're completely serious and this isn't a joke!"_

That's what he had said to me as he started listing off what he wanted from me—I can see why he hasn't found a wife yet despite his father making it clear that he won't give him the position of leader until he's married. Back then, I had been ready to say no, to deny him what he wanted before zipping my lips upon hearing the perks that he offered if I took this job. The perks that he'll have the villagers lay off on how they treat my brothers and me, how he'll make sure that we'll be provided with better equipment—better sheets to keep us warm in the winter, more wood to help fix up our old shack, provisions that weren't rotten or bruised or came from the trash. Hell, he even gave me the two swords that I currently used, they were decent and have served me well these last three years. I had to wonder how he learned that I had experience in sword fighting—let alone two-sword fighting—as I haven't picked up a sword in…five years?

Yes, it's been five years since I last picked up a sword, but I still remembered how to use them.

"Yahoo! Land ho!" I perked up to the loud voice that shouted from the shoreline below, a voice that sounded loud and overly excited as if its owner was so thankful and happy to see land.

"It hasn't been that long since we left Lougetown, you're acting as if we haven't been on land in months" a second voice—one more feminine than the first—seemed to huff as I curiously lifted myself up and peered over the cliff. Curiously was my eyes instantly drawn towards the ship that was now docked close to the shoreline, it was nothing more than a caravel ship that's figurehead was in the design of a cute ram's head and there appeared to be tangerine trees growing on the ship…odd, I didn't think that one could succeed in taking such a thing out to sea with them. But the main thing that caught my attention about the ship was the black flag that proudly waved around in the light sea breeze at the very top of the mast and the Jolly Roger that was painted on both it and the sail. It was your typical skull and crossbones, except the skull wore a straw hat which was enough to cause me to raise an eyebrow.

"Mystery Island! Mystery Island!" my gaze drifted towards the group of people that now cluttered the beach—four men and one woman. They all varied in appearance and it was amusing seeing how the only one out of the five that seemed so eager and excited about being on this island was a young man who wore a straw hat despite how the beach he stood on most likely looked no different to the beach of any other island. I softly chuckled the longer I watched as the young man eagerly bounced in place before my gaze slowly drifted towards one of the other men—towards a young man whose hair was the color of grass.

"Is that…? No, that can't be possible—I doubt he'd ever be a pirate" I frowned with the shake of my head…but still, I couldn't help but stare just a little while longer before turning away as I pushed myself to stand. "Welp, better go see how Cloud and Sora are doing" I sighed as I stretched my arms upwards before letting them fall back and cross behind my head as I now slowly made my way back to the village. Just barely did I nod at anyone that showed some decency in greeting me, that actually didn't look at me with irritation or disgust because they still strongly believed that I was an outsider that didn't belong.

"And just where the hell have you been?" Cloud asked in irritation the moment I walked through the double doors of the restaurant, the blond had one hand on his hip as he tightly clutched the handle of the broom with his other hand and, for a moment, I thought he was going to hit me with it with how annoyed he looked with my sudden reappearance after I had disappeared out of the blue halfway through rush hour.

"I don't know, where do you think?" I asked, innocently smiling up at him as I passed him by, ignoring the way some of the customers quieted down and rudely began to listen and watch as if they were eager to see a fight break out between two siblings. Wouldn't be the first time Cloud and I have bickered in front of a crowd.

"I swear, sometimes it feels like you and Sora don't even care if you get fired" the blond grumbled with the shake of his head before he returned his attention back on his sweeping which seemed to cause the small crowd whose attention we had caught to sigh in disappointment. Some grumbling or softly complaining before they all eventually returned to their own personal conversations that they had been engaged in before getting distracted.

"I don't, but not so sure about Sora" I muttered underneath my breath as I pushed the door to the kitchen open and disappeared inside, grabbing my apron from the hanger.

"He's right, you know" the head chef spoke up from the backdoor—looks like it's already time for one of his many smoke breaks.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's conversation" I said, voice blunt and void of emotion as I busied myself with tying my apron around my waist.

"Tch! I'm amazed the boss even keeps you two around—well, I can see why he keeps pipsqueak around, kid knows his way with people" the man said, noting how my twin had a talent for sometimes being able to get on people's good side, even those that have been cruel towards him were sometimes polite to him if they were in a good enough mood to appreciate that sweet smile of his. "But you, you barely do anything around here" he said as he blew out a billow of smoke from between his lips.

"What? I don't do anything?" I feigned hurt as if I actually cared what he had to say. "Nonsense, I brighten up this place with my sparkling personality—can't you tell? I'm just overflowing with positivity" my smile was disingenuous and my words heavily dripped with sarcasm.

"Watch it, doll—you know I don't like that attitude of yours" he grunted, already looking annoyed with me based on the way his eyes narrowed. "You're dressed up like a man, so I have every right to knock you out without any questions if I wanted to" he bitterly sneered before looking away.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say" I scoffed with the roll of my eyes, already knowing that despite the man's burly appearance, he wasn't much of a fighter to begin with. He liked to act tough since he looked the part, but he was prone to backing down as soon as anyone showed even the slightest of hints of wanting to pick a fight with him. Walking back out into the dining area, I lazily wandered my way over towards Sora who was seated at one of the back tables all by himself—sheets of paper and crayons surrounding him…huh? Must be his break. I wouldn't say that Sora was the best artist out there, but he was decent enough that you could at least tell what it was he had drawn without any trouble.

"A mermaid?" I questioned as I lazily wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my chin on top of his head so that I could peer down at whatever it was he was drawing today. "Weren't you obsessing over trying to draw dogs the other day?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I overheard a few fishermen earlier talking about mermaids and wanted to draw one" Sora mumbled as he continued to color in the background behind the childish drawing of a mermaid. "Think it'll look nice up on the wall back home with all of the others?" he asked, referring back to that one wall we had back home that we'd pin Sora's drawings up on in some vague attempt to brighten the place up and make it feel homier to us then what it really was.

"Yeah, I think so" I shrugged, even if it didn't, I'd still pin it up since it was something he made. I never wanted to discourage him from the things he enjoyed doing. "Hey, by the way, have you done any work today?" I whispered as I cast a quick glance over towards Cloud who was angrily emptying out the dustpan—lowly grumbling to himself as he huffed and puffed as if something was bothering him.

"Uh…no…" Sora sheepishly admitted.

"Ah, that explains why he's in such a mood today, I don't blame him though" I sighed. "I'd be moody too if I had to do all the work while everyone else just sat on their asses" I said as I pulled away from my twin and leaned myself back against the table, watching as he nodded his head in agreement. "We're assholes" I softly laughed which caused the brunet to snort. Quickly was our attention soon directed towards the entrance of this place the minute the double doors were pushed open and those pirates I had spotted earlier walked right on in—quietly did I watch how they made their way towards the very back of the restaurant, lowly talking to one another as they ignored everyone in some vain attempt to not draw too much attention to themselves.

"Oh boy, looks like you're going to be busy today" Sora lowly whistled as he looked at the group of people before his gaze finally settled on the moss haired man that carried three swords with him. "Hey, doesn't he look like—"

"Yeah, I noticed it too" I cut him off as I crossed my arms. "But I have my doubts that it's really him…I can't see him becoming a pirate of all things" I muttered, still finding it hard to believe that he of all people would join a pirate crew. He never showed an interest in pirates before, so it was a reasonable doubt.

"How many men do you know with green hair?" Sora asked. "No, even better, how many men do you know that use three swords?" he reiterated.

"Good point" I softly chuckled as I rubbed the back of my neck before pushing away from the table, reaching into the front pocket of my apron until I produced the small notepad that I normally used to take orders with. "So, what do you think? Should we serve them before you know who shows up?" I asked as I lightly shook the small notepad in my hand.

"I don't think that'll be a good idea—you know he'll probably blow a fuse if you did that" Sora said as he scratched his cheek and gave a quiet laugh. I only nodded while silently mulling over if I really wanted to deal with one of Aaron's famous temper tantrums just for a few minutes of spiteful amusement. Sadly, I didn't really get to make a decision before the doors to the restaurant was thrown open once again and in came the Devil himself—his face twisted up into a look of eager excitement as he looked all around before those chocolate colored eyes of his settled on the group of newcomers.

"Oh brother" Cloud grumbled with the roll of his eyes as he tiredly watched the older brunet fast walk his way towards the back table where the group of pirates resided. Even a few customers also seemed to eagerly stand and follow him until it wasn't long before the pirates now had a decent crowd of people around them—just seeing their confused expressions and tense posture was enough to make me pity them. "Skylar" I hummed the minute I heard my older brother call out to him, head-turning in his direction as I watched how he leaned the broom in his hand up against the wall before approaching me.

"Yes, my darling big brother?" I questioned, innocently batting my eyes up at him before snickering as I raised my hands the second he smacked me upside the head.

"Don't do that" Cloud lightly glared before heaving a tired sigh. "You know the deal, but you're going have to run back to the house and get your swords—I didn't bring them with me today" he said, already looking like he wanted to shoo me right out the door so we could quickly get this mess started and over with.

"I know, and here we thought today was just going to be an ordinary, boring old day like none other" I hummed, lips tugging up into a small smile as I listened to the way he grumbled.

"Fucking hate this island" I chuckled as I listened to him complain, knowing that he was most likely tired from all the work he's been having to do this past week both here at the restaurant and back home at the shack considering how it's been needing new repairs.

"Skylar! Get your ass over here!" Aaron called out as he waved for me to come over the minute I looked at him, owlishly I blinked my eyes as I almost shrunk back the moment I saw all the multiple pairs of eyes that were on me. Already on the tip of my tongue could I feel a snarky response building up, but I was quick to swallow it back down the moment Cloud rested his hand on my lower back.

"Don't start" he muttered as he gave me a slight shove forward.

"Yes, sir" I grumbled with a mock salute before working my way over towards the brunet—weaving my way through the crowd of people until I was able to come to a stop right beside him.

"This here, though "he" may not look like it, is our best fighter—Skylar" Aaron introduced me as he put an arm around my shoulder. "Now, I've already gone over all the details and rules of our deal with them and even generously offered them to pay the reasonable fee—"

"Reasonable" I snorted before grunting when one of the villages close to me elbowed me in the side.

"—but it seems that this young lady is hellbent on taking the fight" Aaron finished, shooting me a sharp glare as he did his best to ignore what I had said and plastered on that fake smile of his. Got to act polite to the soon to be victims of your game if you want them to be willing. Looking to the ginger haired woman, I took note of the displeased look in her eyes as she tightly clutched a napkin in her hands—ah, he must have written down the total fee for her.

"Alright" I nodded as I reached up and gently removed his hand from my shoulder, no longer wanting to feel his touch, before clearing my throat in the process as I made some vain attempt to make my voice sound naturally deeper—it wasn't the best, but since none of them were questioning it, I can at least assume it was good enough. "So, who's the lucky guy or gal that I have the pleasure of going up again?" I asked.

"Eh?" the ginger haired woman owlishly blinked as if she hadn't thought that far ahead before quickly did her eyes began to scan the table as if she was now needing a moment to decide who to pick. I couldn't help but do the same as I now got a closer look at all her companions—there was a man with a straw hat, a man with a long nose, a blond, and then lastly there was the man with moss colored hair. "Well…" she trailed off, looking unsure of herself as her gaze constantly kept flickering back and forth from me to her companions.

"Me! Me!" the man with the straw hat suddenly shouted as he excitedly raised his hand and began to wildly wave it around.

"I think your friend there wants to be it" I chuckled as I watched the way the raven-haired man's lips tugged upwards into a wide grin as he laughed.

"Now hold on" the ginger haired woman frowned as she did her best to settle the man down. "First, what exactly is your expertise?" she curiously asked, now closely scanning my person as if she was looking for any signs of a weapon. I didn't blame her for wanting to know how I fight, she needed to ensure she put the right person up against me if she was wanting to win this.

"Well…I have dabbled a bit into fist fighting and I've held a gun once or twice in my life—never doing that again, it was just plain ** _awful_** —but as for my main method of fighting" I said as I watched the way she raised an eyebrow at how sharp my tone had gotten at the mention of handling a gun. "I'm more into using swords, couldn't you tell?" I smiled.

"Right, then in that case, we nominate Zoro to be our fighters for this little…game?" she didn't sound so sure that was the right word to use to describe what we were about to do and I didn't blame her. Games were meant to be fun—this wasn't fun for either me or the individuals involved.

"Aw, but I wanted to do it, Nami" the man with the straw hat whined in disappointment as he now started to pout.

"U-uh…alright" I stumbled over my words for a moment as I was taken aback the second I heard that name—that name that plagued my mind on those rare days where I could properly think about the few pleasant memories I had and kept me company sometimes on my loneliest of days.

"Great!" Aaron grinned as he clapped his hands together. "Then, shall we get started?" he asked as I watched Zoro stand. I wasn't going to win this game this time around.

-Later-

"Go get him, Skylar!" Sora happily cheered, wearing a wide grin as I embarrassingly waved my hand at him in an attempt to get him to quiet down—he always did this, he always cheered despite how many times I normally tell him not to due to how embarrassing it was. Grumbling when I saw he wasn't going to listen to me, I only busied myself with straightening my bandana as well as discreetly straightening my chest binder to make sure that it was tightly secured. While I was twisting my torso back and forth in an effort to make sure that my movements wouldn't be too badly hindered by this annoying binder, I couldn't help but stare at the three swords that rested against the gentlemen's hips—unlike him, I couldn't really use three sword style as my jaw wasn't strong enough to hold the hilt of a sword between my teeth. Trust me, I've tried. Slowly did my gaze now began to wander as I continued to stretch my body out from my arms to my legs, taking note in how he casually stood there as if he had confidence that he didn't need to stretch in advance and I didn't blame him.

The East Blue was widely known as the weakest sea, and because of that, I've never had much trouble at all with the opponents I've gone up against, even the ones that did give me a bit of a workout weren't much of a hassle—but he was different and I knew that. He's been training for so long; he actually cares about being a swordfighter and takes it so seriously that he puts his heart and soul into it more than I honestly do. I've already accepted that I wasn't going to win this match in the end—but I wonder, just how long can I keep up with him before he brings me down? When I had finished with my stretches, I drew my swords and took my usual stance, ignoring the questioning looks I received from the pirates when they noticed how feminine my stance almost appeared. I couldn't care what they thought at the moment as already I could feel my temper start to rise the longer I watched and listened to the way Aaron began to take up all the small bets that were going around.

God how I hated this part of the game—how I hated how everyone seemed to just draw it out for their amusement by taking bets on who they genuinely believed was going to win. That's why I knew that they didn't really think that highly of me or had complete faith in me. Why would you think highly of someone you constantly bet against sometimes depending on how their opponent looks? Hell, I could already hear some whispering their doubts I was going to win as they examined Zoro's stature and the three swords at his side—three was better than two, wasn't it? Isn't that how the logic works?

He was going to win not because he was better than me, but because he was on a different level than me. I didn't care, fighting was never my favorite thing in the world because it feels like that's all I've been doing my whole life—crying and scream and begging and pleading for mercy that will never come because life doesn't care. He took it seriously, I didn't—he's been taking sword fighting and fighting in general seriously as long as I could remember from the day I met him to the day I left.

"Alright!" Aaron clapped his hands the moment he was finished taking all the bets as he now stood between Zoro and I. But already was he beginning to take slow and steady steps back and away from us as if to make it clear that he didn't want to get caught up in the crossfire.

"We've been ready this entire time—are you ready?" I asked in clear annoyance, ignoring the way the brunet glared at me for the snippy tone I was taking with him.

"Okay then, well let's not waste any more precious daylight—"

"You're the one wasting daylight, get on with it!"

"—Start!" and with that, he quickly backed his way back towards the crowd as Zoro drew his swords—seemingly feeling only the need to draw two of them and to be fair, I probably would have drawn one if I had reasons to believe that my opponent wasn't too overly strong to require two swords to beat them. I raised my swords and blocked his own, softly grunting as I aggressively pushed back against him the moment he started to push down on me. It wasn't long before we both jumped back and put some distances between ourselves, taking slow and steady steps as we began to practically walk circles around one another—our eyes searching for some kind of opening that we could use to our advantage. When I thought I had seen one, I rushed forward and swung my swords only for them to clash against his own once again. It was like a dance what he and I were doing.

Our bodies moving back and forth as our swords just kept clashing and clashing and clashing in attempts to stop each attack we sent towards once another. Only the sounds of the crowd murmuring or cheering could be heard over the clashing of our swords as we just kept pushing back against one another and seeking out an opening.

"You sure do like playing defensively?" Zoro asked the moment our swords clashed once again and we were face to face—our gazes locked as we pushed back against one another.

"I'd be stupid to play too offensively with you—you're not some weak pirate or simple villager, are you?" I asked, watching how his lips seemed to twitch up into a grin the moment he heard what I guess you could say was the slight praise I had given him. I wasn't wrong, I would be stupid to try and play offensively with him—if I was going to last as long as I could before the inevitable end then I needed to play on the defense. Maybe if he had been someone that I knew I could easily get cocky with and play a bit more dangerously then I would have, but he wasn't—he wasn't meant to be taken lightly. Our little dance continued and slowly, bit by bit, we both began to acquire small nicks here and there from the moments the tips of our blades would get too dangerously close and brush against our flesh. I wasn't sure what caused it, but at some point I found my gaze softening as I looked at him and I found my mind wandering to the point that my body slowly began to relax and my defensive stance started to lower.

"I'd keep my head out of the clouds if I were you" I had been jolted from my thoughts at the last moment, unable to quickly regain my stance as the swordsman flipped his blades around and shot forward.

"Skylar!" I barely registered the startled gasp from my twin as I listened to the sound of fabric ripping and tearing before finally, a sharp sting reached the flesh of my chest. Even with him using the back of the blades, the force of his attack had still been strong enough to rip and tear its way through my shirt and binder before damaging the skin of my flesh as if it was the tip of a cats claw tearing through the flesh of someone's arm.

"Oh…" I muttered as I reached a hand up and pressed it down on my chest, barely registering the way the cut flesh throbbed in protest at the pressure as small beads of blood prickled and began to seep out just enough to latch onto the palm of my hand. It was quiet for a moment before half of the crowd suddenly burst out cheering…well, I know who they betted on.

"Skylar! Hey, Skylar—are you alright?!" Sora sounded so frantic as he came sliding to a stop right beside me, almost looking on the verge of a panic attack the minute he saw the damage to my clothes and the slight blood that trickled from the cut—it wasn't deep, but that was to be expected since he had used the back of the blade. "You're bleeding! Why are you bleeding?!" I couldn't help but chuckle the moment he grabbed my shoulders and began to violently shake me back and forth.

"Why do you think, dumb-dumb?" I softly smiled as I reached up and grabbed his wrists so that I could still him. I watched how he almost looked like he wanted to pout upon hearing my question as he puffed out his cheeks and huffed at the childish insult that I threw his way for the dumb question he had asked.

"What were you thinking?! This was meant to just be a spar or something or whatever the hell this is!" my ears perked up as I listened to the way the ginger haired woman—didn't that straw hat guy call her Nami?—chewed out the swordsman who seemed like he wasn't really all that concerned.

"I used the back of the blades, "he's" fine" Zoro defended with the dismissive wave of his hand which didn't seem to do much to help soothe the woman's anger.

"Hey!" I shouted over to the group, halting their conversation as I slowly stood up which caused Sora to start panicking once again as he quickly stood as well and attempted to coax me into not moving around so much. "Congratulations on the win! Really, I had fun!" I happily waved, ignoring the sharp glares some of the villagers gave me as if annoyed that I was being a good sport about all this despite having lost.

"Skylar, don't move around so much!" Sora worriedly frowned and I couldn't help but find that worry cute as I laughed. "Don't laugh, you're hurt!" he huffed as he crossed his arms.

"I know, I know" I said in an attempt to soothe his anger. "Come on, if it'll make you feel better, we'll go see Dr. Anderson" I smiled as I watched how he nodded his head before sighing in relief as he took my hand and moved my arm over his shoulder despite the fact that I knew I didn't need that much help. Such a worry wart—but then again, so am I when it comes to him and Cloud. "Don't worry, we're going" I told Cloud the moment we walked past him and I noticed how he was already opening his mouth as if getting ready to speak.

"You better" he muttered before his lips softly pulled up into a small smile as he reached out and softly patted the top of my head. "God, you're a handful sometimes, you know that?" he sighed, chuckling at the cheeky smile I gave him before Sora and I finally left.

-Later-

"Hey, Dr. Anderson, guess who came to visit you!" Sora and I sang the moment we kicked the door open to the familiar clinic that we both were so used to seeing. It wasn't that big as it only contained a sink, various medical equipment, and two beds that were separated by a curtain—there was also a back room that held miscellaneous items like spare clothing that had been donated to the clinic, spare medical supplies, and most of the strong medicine that the good doctor kept locked up and away from the prying eyes of any resident villagers that had…issues when it came to medical drugs.

"Well, there's our little loser" Dr. Anderson smiled the moment he came out of the back room, carrying with him a spare shirt and chest binder.

"Wow, news spreads fast here, doesn't it?" I whistled in amazement that someone had already spread the news to the rest of the villagers that hadn't attended the match what the results were.

"Like anyone on this island can keep their mouth shut when it comes to this junk" Sora muttered with the roll of his eyes as he helped me to sit down on one of the beds.

"Well, it is a small village, my dear" Dr. Anderson reminded me. "Anything newsworthy—let along gossip-worthy—it bound to spread like wildfire the moment it happens" he added as he grabbed his stool and pulled it close to the bed before sitting down, already starting to gather up the supplies he believed he would need. "Now, you know the drill, take off your shirt and chest binder so we can get a good look at the damage."

"I know" I said with the wave of my hand as I began to remove the destroyed articles of clothing—I was a bit sad to see the shirt go as the doctor tossed the ruined articles of clothing, it had been one of my favorites due to how comfy it was to wear. "Look, I doubt it's even that bad, I mainly just came here for Sora's sake" I told him.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that" he said as he carefully started to examine the cut—already the bleeding had stop and what beads of blood that had surface was now smeared and already beginning to dry. "You're not wrong that it isn't that bad" he mumbled as he followed the way the cuts ran from either of my shoulders and down to my waist creating a red "x" that seemed to stand out against the pale flesh of my torso. "Still, any wound made—whether by a clean blade or not—must be clean as to avoid infection. You should know this by now" he said as he pushed me down and began the process of cleaning the wound.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure that some of those nails I found were clean—besides, you know I mainly used my nails" I muttered, embarrassed that he had brought up those cuts. I avoided looking at him in the same vain that Sora avoided looking at either one of us, his gaze becoming downcast as if he didn't want to be reminded of that time he had rushed me here due to an infection caused by a certain cut on my hip. The scars were nearly faded now, a miracle really considering how deep some of those cuts were.

"So…what happened?" Sora asked in some attempt to change the subject as he slowly began to kick his feet back and forth from where he had taken a seat on the bed next to mine.

"Got distracted, that's all" I shrugged. "Not that it matters, he probably would have won anyway" I muttered.

"That's new" Sora whistled as he tilted his head. "Was it because…?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that was part of the reason—brought back some good memories" I nodded as I sighed.

"Mind telling me what it is you two are talking about? This old geezer can't read minds, you know?" Dr. Anderson hummed as he now began to pour cleaning alcohol onto a rag once he was sure he had wiped my torso clean of any dried blood.

"Well…" Sora scratched the back of his head, looking as if he didn't really know where to begin as he tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

"The guy I went up against was Zoro" I answered. "You know, that kid me and Sora sometimes talked about with you whenever you wanted to distract us from the pain of tending to us after we'd get into a fight with one of the other kids on the island" I reminded him. "I'll admit, what I did was kind of stupid—it was my fault for letting my emotions get the best of me during a fight" I sighed.

"Hm, indeed, I do remember you mentioning this Zoro fellow every now and again" Dr. Anderson hummed. "But if I also recall, neither of one of you have ever told me exactly how you met him—would you like to enlighten me while you're here?" he asked, pulling that usual tactic of his. A trick he learned fairly quickly when Sora and I used to visit him frequently after our arrival on the island because he knew it made his job easier if we both were calm and distracted and not thinking about whatever pain or sour mood we were in.

"Sure, I mean, we got time to spare" I shrugged, quietly hissing the moment the rag in his hand touched the wound on my chest and caused it to sting. "Let's see, well I believe we met him back when we were about eight…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to Remember:  
> 1.) This story was originally written back in 2014 and though it has gone through many touch-ups through the years, I make no promises that it's all that good. It's being written for fun, I just wanted to share it with you all on here. I'll admit, I ain't that great at writing the fight scenes and I mainly like to put more of a focus on the emotions and interactions of the characters with my OC when I have a chance. Also, this will probably be my only story on my account that's not a Reader Insert...maybe if you all like Skylar I may post more stories with her on here.
> 
> 2.) Skylar was originally meant to be a Kingdom Hearts OC, when I got into One Piece and started wanting to write a One Piece fanfic, I decided to use her. I was so used to writing Cloud and Sora as her brothers that I brought them along with (though they are written more like a mixture of their fanfic counterparts and my own interpretation of them that you could argue that they're just OCs inspired both by name and look-wise to their game counterparts...).
> 
> 3.) A lot of things you see here, in the beginning, do eventually get explanations later on in the story—a lot of clarifications do happen in later chapters that correspond with these earlier chapters. So that's something to keep in mind—if you see something that you feel isn't greatly clarified then chances are it gets clarified later on in another chapter.
> 
> 4.) Since this story is posted on FF.N and Wattpad that means you can find all the other chapters on those sites (I'm currently up to 337) if you don't want to patiently wait for me to post them here. There may be some slight touch-ups to chapters (mainly just fixing placements of commas or misspelled words that were overlooked) so don't be startled and think this story is stolen. It's not, as far as I'm aware, I'm the only one posting it to all three of my accounts which are under the same name.
> 
> 5.) Lastly, as I said, this story may not be the greatest thing in the world but I really do enjoy writing it and I do kind of just want to share it. Maybe some of you will like it and maybe some of you won't. But either way, I hope that you somewhat enjoy what I have and understand that this story was written back when I was still new to writing and still trying to find my way. There will be mistakes no matter how much I try and fix it and I'm not afraid to admit that. This is my first long story and it was written for fun—it's a story not meant to greatly change the course of the main OP story, but instead its a story of a young girl going on an adventure and sort of just finding herself and learning to grow and accept things. A story of mainly friendship and moving forward with a nice touch of romance. If that makes sense.


	2. Chapter Two

-Flashback-

_Loudly did a pair of twins run their way through the overgrowth of the forest, their blue eyes greedily attempting to take in the sight of all that was around them as if attempting to commit it to memory—as if not wanting to forget a single detail of their new temporary home. Silently were they make mental reminders of the quickest routes they could use if they needed to get away or hiding spots that would be so easy for them to squeeze inside if they ever needed to hide. Of the two, the older twin—a young boy—was quickly starting to pull ahead as he loudly laughed, never taking notice in the way that his sister had begun to slow in her steps as her attention was slowly dragged away from the scenery around her. Instead, her gaze now found itself curiously peering at a young boy who sat not too far from where she was on a log. His face was twisted up into a scowl as he seemed to just harshly wipe at his eyes and loudly sniff._

_"Hey!" she curiously called out, already making her way towards the young boy without a second thought. Normally she wasn't so brave as to approach a stranger, especially on a new island that she knew she and her brothers were only going to stay on temporarily, but she felt it fine to do such a thing with this boy when she noticed that he was crying._

_"Don't go sneaking up on people like that!" the boy snapped the moment he had flinched and whirled his head around to look in her direction. Frowning as his cheeks now started to slowly warm-up at the realization that he had been caught angrily crying—he came out here to be alone, what was some kid doing around here? Slowly did his anger and embarrassment start to fade the longer he looked at the young girl and realized that he did not recognize her. "Hey, who exactly are you? I don't think I've seen you around here before" he remarked as he watched how she settled to a stop right in front of him._

_"Skylar—Skylar Strife" she introduced as if it was just an automatic response for her—as if she was so used to saying her name in that fashion that she couldn't stop herself. "My brothers and I just got here" she widely smiled before tilting her head as she curiously peered at him. "Who are you? Why is your hair so green? Is there something wrong with it?" she couldn't help but ask question after question the longer she stared at the boy._

_"There's nothing wrong with my hair!" he snapped, cheeks flushing in embarrassment at the slight indication that there was something weird or unnatural about his hair. "The name's Zoro—Roronoa Zoro" he huffed as he introduced himself. "What do you mean you just got here with your brothers? What about your parents?" he curiously asked when he realized how odd her wording had been. Usually, someone would use the word family, but by the way she had spoken, her words insinuated that it was just she and her brothers who had arrived._

_"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Skylar asked as she avoided properly answering the young boy and instead plopped right down beside him on the log. Her legs too short as they lifted off the ground the moment she sat down._

_"That's not really any of your business—now, are you going to answer my question or not?" Zoro huffed as he crossed his arms the moment he realized that the brunette had completely ignored his question._

_"Were you crying? Why were you crying? Are you sad?" once again did she start to ask question after question as she seemed to just brush off his own as if she found it too trivial of a question to answer. "Is the reason you're out here is because you're embarrassed? You shouldn't be, everyone cries" she said with the tilt of her head._

_"I-I wasn't crying!" Zoro embarrassingly snapped._

_"You weren't?" Skylar tilted her head._

_"N-no" he stuttered, knowing that no matter how much he denied it—she had already caught him. "But…if you really want to know, I got beat by a girl today" he frowned at the memory of his loss back at the dojo—the embarrassment at having lost to some young girl that wasn't too much older than him made his lips twitch downwards and his eyebrows knit together._

_"So?" Skylar frowned, not understanding what was so bad about losing—especially losing to a girl. "Geez, that's not something to cry over—who gets upset because they lost to some girl?" she muttered with the roll of her eyes as she listened to the way the young boy only seemed to just grumble in response._

_"Just leave me alone…I need to get stronger…" Zoro grumbled, voice so low that Skylar was just barely able to hear the words he had spoken, but when she did, she felt the way her lips tugged upwards into a wide smile as her eyes brightened almost as if she had gotten an idea._

_"If you like, I can help you with your training—I actually know some pretty good training exercises" she suddenly said as her gaze seemed to almost darken for a moment and grow hazy as if she was lost in thought._

_"Really now?" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he eyed the young girl up and down, taking note of her small stature—she looked like someone he could easily pick up and toss if he so desired. "Sure, whatever you say" he scoffed in disbelief before curiously watching as she suddenly threw herself up off of the log and now stood in front of him._

_"Then it's a deal" she said as she crossed her arms behind her back and began to rock back and forth on the balls of her feet. "In exchange for me helping you with your training, you have to…" she trailed off, stopping her rocking as she now tilted her head and seemed to just tap her chin in thought. "You have to…" she repeated before suddenly snapping her fingers as the thought hit her. "You have to be my friend!" she smiled, pleased with how smart she was as the idea that she was going to make her first real friend since…the idea that she was going to make her first real friend filled her with joy._

_"Now hold on, I never—"_

_"So, is it a deal or not?" Skylar cut him off as she now shoved her hand in his face and softly shook it as if attempting to get his attention. Zoro stared at her for a moment, huffing at the fact that she had so easily cut him off and didn't seem to care all that much that he hadn't really agreed to anything…but, the longer he stared at her and saw the way her eyes seemed to just brighten at the concept of having a friend and the way that smile of hers seemed to just grow the longer she looked at him, the more he started to feel he didn't really have a choice._

_"Sure, it's a deal" he grinned as he reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a firm shake. The days to come after that little deal of theirs was certainly filled with surprises as Zoro learned that the brunette hadn't lied, she really did know quite a few helpful tips for training regiments that helped in building up the strength in his arms and legs—he also found that she happened to be a decent enough sparing partner. Though she didn't seem to put in the same passion behind her attacks like he did his, still, she held up her own decently well enough that he could give her credit where credit was due. But, if he's being honest, the training regiments she had shown him felt a bit strange to him due to how they kind of reminded him of something you'd expect a young Marine to be put through in preparation for the field. He made attempts to ask her where she had learned such training methods as well as how she had learned to spar so well but was always met with either silence or strained smiles as she'd be quick to change the subject._

_He learned fairly quickly not to question her too much, he learned fairly quickly that she was a very closed off person when it came to certain questions as if she didn't like the idea of personally letting him get too close. Eventually, he learned to just go with the flow of things and accept whatever she told him, but despite how hard he trained and how much help the brunette had been, he still lost every time he went up against Kuina. He still found himself knocked to the ground, he still found himself with bruises as she would be deemed the winner and he'd be left to sulk away and angrily rant to the young eight-year-old that always patiently listened to him. Slowly, bit by bit, he eventually started to teach himself how to use more than just one sword—quick was he in learning how to use two swords with the help of Skylar who gave him simple tips and spared with him enough until he was completely better at the style than she was. But that wasn't enough as he kept pushing it until the day he finally was able to yield three of the wooden training swords at once._

_The pride he felt swell up in his chest the minute he saw the awe in Skylar's eyes despite the way she teased him for that temper of his—that temper that had pushed him to exceed in being better, in going over the top and doing more than what was asked of him_ _—was enough to boost his confidence. Slowly did he and Skylar begin to grow closer as the days went by to the point that it was commonplace for the brunette to accompany him at the dojo and watch him fight—hearing her cheers and claps every time he won a match was enough to brighten his mood and make him feel good about himself. But even though they grew close, there were moments where he couldn't help but just be confused by her and her behavior. Confused by the way she'd get all flustered and embarrassed when he'd poke fun and tease her for something like her short height, but yet be perfectly calm and fine whenever one of the other boys in the dojo would do the same thing. Confused was he whenever she'd suddenly get upset and almost snippy with him—turning away and completely ignoring him whenever he'd talk too much about Kuina, even though the things he sometimes said weren't always that nice._

_"Can't we talk about something other than Kuina?"_

_"Why you do like talking about Kuina so much? Do you like her more?"_

_"Yeah, she's cool, but do you need to talk about her every time we hang out?"_

_Those were some of the questions that she'd angrily ask whenever she felt that Kuina was mentioned far too much for her liking during moments that were meant to be spent between her and Zoro. He didn't exactly understand her reaction until the day her older brother, Cloud, had told him that she was just jealous. He hadn't expected such an answer from the older boy when he had asked such a question while the both of them were alone inside the small shack that the Strife children lived in. That had been his first time visiting her house, the experience had been bizarre when he saw just how rundown the place looked—how it appeared to almost be in shambles and slowly rotting away as there were no adults around saved for the twelve-year-old. They barely had anything to their name and he always wondered how they got the clothes that they wore or the food that they ate…though sometimes the food didn't really look all that appetizing._

_He knew that Skylar would never answer him if he were to ask her about her living conditions—living conditions that troubled him as even he knew at his young age that she and her brothers shouldn't have been living in such a fashion. Where were their parents? Were they orphans? He made attempts to ask her two brothers anytime he could get them alone, but just like with Skylar, they ignored him or would change the subject while offering him strained smiles._

_"Just don't worry about it, it has nothing to do with you" Cloud had eventually told him one day when he attempted to push one of his prying questions that none of the Strife children wanted to answer. He reluctantly accepted that they weren't going to open up to him, that they weren't going to share with him what was wrong or why they were living the life that they were living—it did not lessen his worry or concerns, only made them grow. But, despite it all, life seemed to just go on perfectly fine for the two. Until that day. Until the day that Kuina had died._

_Zoro had been pretty happy at the beginning of that day, excitedly telling Skylar all about the promise he and Kuina had made the previous night when he had angrily challenged her to another swordfight—one that involved real swords this time. Whatever happiness that had been shared between the two was instantly cut short by the arrival of one of the other children from the dojo, a young boy who dreadfully gave them the news of the tragic accident._

_"She fell down the stairs."_

_That had been the cause of death everyone said—it was an unexpected death…it was a simple death. Zoro had been struck the hardest by the news as he became devastated, lashing out and pushing away all those that tried to get close to him as he angrily tried to work through his grief through training. He even found himself aggressively lashing out at Skylar anytime she attempted to comfort him, anytime she'd tell him that anger was not the proper way to grieve and though his words and his actions hurt her, she never left his side. She waited patiently as she'd silently follow and listen and comfort and ignored any of his angry rants whenever he'd break down and lash out at her before he'd start screaming at her that what had happened wasn't fair—that what had happened wasn't right. It took him some time before he settled down—before he accepted Kuina's death and made a promise that he'd fulfill their wish in becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman._

_Zoro in a way was thankful towards the brunette for how patient she had been with him, for how she stuck by his side despite how he acted towards her—despite how he lashed out at her during his time of grief. He apologized so many times to her after that day he was given Kuina's sword, he apologized for how he treated her and the pain he had no doubt caused her and it only pained his heart whenever she'd sweetly smile up at him and assure him it was fine. She could never fully tell him just how badly his actions hurt her, she couldn't bring herself to tell him how his anger had scared her—all she could do was smile and assure him that everything was fine. He was her first friend and had quickly become her first crush as well, she didn't want to lose him because he had acted out on his grief. She wanted to instead just be there for him and help him every step of the way as he heals and grows._

_Years go by and the two slowly began to get even closer to the point that Zoro eventually found himself developing warm feelings for the eleven-year-old girl who was already starting to slowly grow and mature. Slowly with each passing day, the teenager found himself trying so hard not to embarrass himself in front of his crush as she too began to do the same—the both of them embarrassingly dancing around their emotions as neither could find the voice to confess to the other. Carefully did they start showing physical affection in small ways—a quick hug here, a grab of the hand here or there as they'd walk, a pat on the head or the ruffle of some hair. Eventually, they began to give one another gifts, gifts that were simple as they were either made or picked or caught and so on. Zoro had been the first one to act, giving the brunette a sloppily made bracelet of flowers that had been messily tied together…but, sadly, it hadn't lasted too long as the flowers were quick to wither and die after just a few days._

_Skylar, on the other hand, gave Zoro a necklace that was made of nothing more than strings and seashells—it seemed to be the only gift given that didn't whither or run away or get lost or be destroyed. It was a gift that Zoro kept around his neck or in his pocket, a gift that he always kept on him somewhere on his body no matter what—even when it wasn't in sight, he still hadn't somewhere on his person. Though, sadly, the time they spent together was soon abruptly cut short as there came a day were Skylar and her brothers could no longer stay on the island. She knew that her time spent on the island was temporary, that one day she and her brothers would have to leave, but that didn't stop the tears from falling as she came to Zoro—sobbing and choking out incoherent words that took him a while to decipher. She didn't give the reason for their sudden departure, but he didn't really care as his only instinct was to wrap her up in a hug and hold her as tightly as he could. He didn't want her to leave, he selfishly wanted her to stay with him and he expressed this selfish desire through the way his arms would tighten around her every time she made a move to pull away as his eyes slowly began to sting and water._

_"Don't go" he muttered, not wanting her to leave him. "Please, don't go" he almost pleaded._

_"Zoro, I have to go…" Skylar quietly sniffed, her voice wobbly and strained as she tried her best to calm her crying. "What was that?" she quietly asked the moment the moss headed boy suddenly muttered something in response as he only seemed to tighten his hold on her._

_"I said, you better promise me that you won't ever forget about me" Zoro repeated as he hesitantly pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "I want to make sure that you'll recognize me on the day we see each other again—especially when I become the World's Greatest Swordsman!" he huffed. "We will see each other again…won't we?" he suddenly asked, sounding almost scared of the answer she'd give._

_"Yeah!" Skylar loudly sniffed as she began to harshly wipe away her tears and brightly smiled up at the young boy. "But what about you, huh? You promise that you won't go forgetting about poor old me?" she asked as she looked up at him with those big, innocent eyes of hers._

_"Of course I won't forget you, dummy" he scoffed as if the mere thought of him forgetting her sounded ridiculous. "I promise" he softly smiled as he affectionally ruffled her hair._

_"Good, then…then I guess this is goodbye" Skylar hesitantly said as her eyes became downcast and her cheeks suddenly became warm. "I…I…I'll miss you…" she softly muttered, stumbling over her words as her blush seemed to almost darken. For a minute, she looked ready to turn and leave before she suddenly stopped and stood up on her tippy toes as she pressed a light and gentle kiss to the older boy's cheek. "B-bye!" quick was she to turn and leave, waving bye without even bothering to look back as if too embarrassed to face him after what she had just done._

_"Note to self, tell her how I feel next time I see her…" Zoro mumbled as he raised a hand and rested it against the cheek she had kissed._

-End of Flashback-

"Honestly, all I got to do now is wait and see if he remembers me or not…I don't look that different dressed as a man, do I?" I asked as I pulled on the new chest binder Dr. Anderson had given me. "Well, I mean I could probably go ahead and tell them I'm a girl now since the fight's over, but…I think I want to keep up the charade a little longer" I sighed, after having to dress this way for almost three years—I've come to enjoy some of the little perks acting like a man has given me when it comes to the visitors of this island. Mainly, I've come to enjoy the fact that they at least took my seriously when they looked at me because in their eyes they saw a young man aspiring to be a great fighter, not a young woman that's just tired.

"Why is that?" the doctor curiously asked.

"Life is much easier as a man" I shrugged, watching how he nodded his head.

"You sure that's a good idea though?" Sora asked with the tilt of his head. "Wouldn't you want to just reunite with your boyfriend now?" he teasingly asked as he started to make kissy faces at me.

"He's not my boyfriend, Sora" I rolled my eyes. "We're just…friends, that's what we were back then and that's probably what we'll be now that we're older" I sighed as I tugged on the new shirt I was given. "All set—come on, So-So, let's go" I said as I motioned for my twin to follow.

"Bye, Dr. Anderson" we called back with a wave.

"Bye, be sure to take it easy you two, I rather not see either of you so soon after today's visit" he called back with a wave of his own as he turned his attention elsewhere before we fully shut the door and made our way back to the restaurant. Already was the sun slowly beginning to set as everyone was now beginning to retire back into their homes and settle in for the night.

"We're back" Sora said the moment we entered the restaurant that had already been cleared out by most of its customers—though, whether the customers had left because closing time was nearing or because they were angry with the group of pirates that were still here, I did not know. I couldn't help but stare for just a moment at the large stack of plates that cluttered the table as the man with the straw hat stomach seemed to have inflated in size like a balloon due to the massive amount of food he's most likely been consuming since his friend had won that fight.

"Good, I won't be alone in cleaning up this mess" Cloud grumbled with a sigh of relief as he tiredly glared down at the stacks of filthy plates that he knew would be our responsibility to clean. "What is this guy? A black hole?" he muttered underneath his breath.

"Oh, you're back" I stopped in my tracks to look at the person who had spoken, now taking a moment to really get a good look at the man with the long nose I had spotted earlier. I didn't think noses could actually get that long now that I looked at it—if his name's not Pinocchio then I'm going to be severely disappointed in his parents.

"Yeah, I'm back" I nodded as I grabbed one of the chairs nearby and plopped down inside it as I crossed my arms and rested them over the back of it.

"Uh…are you alright?" Nami, I think that's her name, asked. She looked hesitantly like she was almost nervous I'd blow up on her or something.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I asked, chuckling the moment I saw her sweat drop before she quickly shook her head and frown.

"You aren't upset that you lost?" she curiously asked, looking as if she couldn't believe that I wasn't throwing some kind of temper tantrum over my defeat.

"No? Why would I do something as childish as that?" I raised an eyebrow. "I lost, big deal" I shrugged. "All I can do is learn from my mistake and not repeat it again."

"Learn from your mistake?" she echoed.

"You got distracted there at the last minute I saw" Zoro said. "I say you better learn quickly not to do that—letting your guard down in a fight in the quickest way to get yourself killed" he warned as he leaned back in his chair and took a swing from the bottle in his hand.

"I know" I nodded. "So, may I get the names of the champions that get the luxury of staying here free of charge?" I asked as I rested my chin on my crossed arms.

"Oh, I guess" Nami nodded. "The name's Nami, over there is Zoro, then there's Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp" she said as she pointed to each man she named.

"Nice to meet you, the name's Skylar—Skylar St…just Skylar" I caught myself which was a first as I always had trouble breaking that old habit of mine. I don't know why I keep the last name—I don't know why any of us keep it. "Over there are my brothers, Cloud and Sora" I said, ignoring the pirates' curious stares as I jabbed a finger towards my two brothers. Cloud only grunted in greeting as he gathered up the dirty dishes while Sora happily waved in greeting before he did the same as the blond. "So, what are you doing all the way out here? I certainly hope it's not just for sightseeing" I said.

"We're off to the Grand Line" Luffy answered through a mouthful of meat which caused chunks of it to go flying from his mouth.

"It's not really polite to talk with your mouth full, you know?" I softly scolded, "Anyway, if you're heading for the Grand Line, I guess that means you're going after that legendary treasure all you pirates like to talk about…what was it called again?" I questioned as I snapped my fingers in thought in an attempt to remember the name.

"The One Piece" Nami said.

"That's it" I nodded. "Must be nice to be able to go on such a grand adventure" I couldn't help but blissfully sigh. "To be out there sailing the wide-open sea, living freely and having fun all in the name of treasure hunting" I couldn't stop the way my lips softly tilted upwards into a small smile.

"You seem to really like the idea of being out at sea" Sanji remarked.

"Yeah" I hummed as I tilted my head back. "My brothers and I used to move around a lot in search of a home—it wasn't easy and we all learned quickly just how deadly and harsh the sea can be to those of us that aren't prepared, but…just the sight of those waves were still so lovely even in those moments where they'd get harsh" I admitted. "There's something thrilling about being out at sea, it's clearly much better than being stuck here on land" I sighed. "There's only so much beauty you can see here on land before you start to grow tired of it—out at sea, the scenery is always changing, and your always being taken to new places and meeting new people."

"Skylar, come back here and help with the dishes!" Cloud tiredly called over as he poked his head out of the kitchen door. "I want to go home and sleep before I have to finish fixing the roof" he grumbled before he disappeared back inside the kitchen.

"Welp, that's my cue to go" I said as I stood up. "How long do you all plan on staying?" I curiously asked, expecting them to say that they have plans on leaving tomorrow after witnessing just how bad this island can be.

"For about a week" Nami answered which surprised me. "We're just going to restock and rest up a bit before having to make the trip to the Grand Line" she said as I nodded my head in understanding.

"Well, hopefully, I'll get to spend more time with you people—your colorful appearance is far better compared to the people of this island" I winked as I waved at them before disappearing into the kitchen.

-A Week Later-

"I'm sorry, what?" I slowly blinked as I stared at the raven-haired man before me in confusion.

"I said, will you join my crew?" Luffy grinned, repeating that question that caused my eyes to slowly blink once more as if I was struggling to just process what he was asking me.

"Luffy, you can't just ask "him" that! You've only known "him" for a week!" Usopp scowled and he wasn't wrong. A week had already come and gone and during that entire week I, strangely enough, found myself stuck with the captain of the Straw Hat pirates as he seemed to practically glue himself to my side—constantly following me around, constantly talking to me and asking me questions, and just straight-up acting like we were friends or something. I won't lie, my time spent with him had been nice, especially that day on the cliffside when he…he's a good person with a good heart I found. I couldn't help but almost view him like a brother.

"Why would you want me on your crew?" I frowned.

"Because I want you on my crew" Luffy smiled.

"You barely know anything about me and spending an entire week with me doesn't exactly seem like enough time for you to make such a big decision" I owlishly blink at the blank stare he gave me. "Look, you're a good guy and you seem like the type of person that wouldn't let just anyone join his crew without a good reason—so, why are you asking me?" I asked.

"Do I need a reason other than the fact that I just want you on my crew?" Luffy laughed.

"Yes, you do!" the other Straw Hats and I snapped.

"Really? Well…" Luffy hummed as he began to rub his chin in thought before suddenly snapping his fingers. "Your eyes" he grinned.

"Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's your eyes, they just have this familiar look to them when you start talking about adventure and being out at sea" he explained and I couldn't help but frown at his wording a little—what does he mean by familiar? "It's like there's a certain fire in them, it almost feels like you're bored with your life here and, even though I don't know why that would be, you just need to get out. Well, what better way to do that than to join my crew?" he brightened. "You seem like a pretty swell "guy" and the time I spent with you this week means that we're friends now, so I'd be happy to have you on my crew" he grinned.

"That sounded strangely reasonable and intelligent" Nami noted in suspicion.

"Are we sure that's our idiotic captain and not an imposter?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know…what if you regret having me apart of your crew later on?" I hesitantly asked.

"I won't" Luffy said, a serious look now settling on his face—it was a look I don't think I've seen him really wear that much since he arrived here.

"You sure about that? You sure you wouldn't regret having someone like me on your ship?" I pressed, watching how he only gave a firm nod in response.

"I think it's a great idea" Sora smiled as he passed right on by, carrying various plates of food that he was quick to set down the moment he reached the table before sighing in relief when his arms were free from the weight of all that food he had to carry. "Here's your order, Luffy" and just like that, the pirate captain was quick to zip himself back into his seat and begin stuffing his face as if he was starving and this was his first meal in ages.

"Boy sure likes to eat" I muttered, always surprised with how quick he could be when it came to food.

"But as I was saying, I think it's a great idea" Sora brightened which caused me to narrow my eyes in suspicion for a moment. "Skylar, you really don't have much going on here and it's pretty obvious that you've been growing bored more and more everyday…don't think I haven't noticed your startling decrease in energy. So, why not try and spice things up in your life?" he smiled, a sad look crossing his eyes the moment he mentioned my sudden decrease in motivation. He wasn't wrong, the more I spend time on the island, the more tired I get, the more motivation and energy I lose.

"Normally I wouldn't encourage this since your my baby "bro," but I have to agree with Sora on this one" Cloud said as he looked up from where he was sweeping the floor. "You're old enough to make your own decisions, and you have expressed many times before how much you just want to leave and see if there's more to life than what you have currently going on right now" he pointed out.

"I've never said that before expect in my…" my face flushed the moment I saw the grin that tugged at the blonde's lips. "You fucker! You read my journal, didn't you?!" I embarrassingly snapped.

"Oh, don't be surprised, I'm your big brother after all—you aren't allowed to have privacy when I'm around" Cloud cheekily smiled before he went back to sweeping. Lowly did I grumble before quickly I turned all of my attention back onto Luffy.

"Alright, I'll ask you one more time—do you really want me on your crew?" I asked.

"Yes" he nodded as he spoke through a mouthful.

"And…and you feel that you won't regret it?"

"That's right."

"There's a part of me that feels like there's more to this then what you're letting on, but if you're so sure that you want me to join—and it's pretty obvious that these two are fine with me going—then I guess I have no choice" I sighed. "Sure, I guess I'm a pirate now" I shrugged.

"Really?" Nami blinked in surprise. "Been a while since I've seen someone agree that easily" she remarked.

"In that case, then I know I made the right choice in agreeing, persistent people can be so annoying sometimes" I said as my lips slowly twitched upwards. "I should know, I'm the twin to one" I said as I motioned towards Sora who laughed. "So, when are you all heading out?"

"Around mid-afternoon, so that should give you about two hours to gather up your things before we leave" Nami answered.

"Right, well I might as well go do that now" I nodded as I removed my apron and draped it over one of the nearby chairs. "Come on, Sora, I'm going to need some help—I also have a few things I want to talk to you about" I said as I motioned for my twin to follow, smiling as I watched how he nodded his head and copied what I had just done the minute he removed his apron.

"What? Leaving me here alone once more?" Cloud questioned, his eye twitching in irritation.

"Why, of course, it's only fair seeing how you went through my journal" I cheekily smiled as I passed by the blond before Sora and I exited the restaurant.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To explain why I didn't write out their adventure in Laboon—when I originally wrote this back in 2014, I hadn't yet been aware of how important of a role Laboon would play later on in the series. I had started writing this story when I was in the middle of the Drum Island Arc and had quickly wanted to catch up to the episode I was on, these beginning chapters are all written based on my memories of what happened in each individual Arc before it really starts to accurately pick up once I reached at least the middle of the Drum Island Arc. Also, as for the time frame, I just feel it would have taken them a few weeks to reach Reverse Mountain because of the ship they had and how vast the sea normally is. If that makes sense.

_"Are you really sure you want me to go? You know you can't take it back once I leave, this isn't a decision to take lightly."_

_"No, not really—I mean you're my twin and this will be the first time that we'll ever be this far apart from one another."_

_"Then why did you say this was a great idea?"_

_"Because it is—Skylar, you can't always expect me and Cloud to tell you how to live your life! If you want to leave and go have an adventure then leave! I mean, we're not children anymore…you're almost a fully-grown woman, you can't let me be the one to dictate what you do with your life."_

_"But, what about—"_

_"Look, you know that I have Riku and Cloud has Leon, we're not going to be alone. Sure, we'll miss you, but like I said, this is your life—not mine or Cloud's. We can't tell you what you can and can't do."_

_"I know, but…I'm really going to miss you guys, this will be the first time we'll be so far apart from one another. I mean, look at me! I'm already starting to feel regret for my choices and I haven't even left yet!"_

_"You don't regret it, silly, you're just scared that you'll regret it later—which you won't. Now, before you go, be sure to remember to at least write us when you have the chance and be sure to cause up such a fuss that **he** sees it."_

_"Yeah, I guess I can do that— **he'll** surely blow a fuse with such a discovery…"_

_"That's the spirit! Oh, and Skylar."_

_"Yeah, what is it?"_

_"Be sure to give Zoro one big smooch for me when he finally remembers you."_

_"S-shut up! We're just friends!"_

"You seem distracted, is something a matter?" I jumped the moment I was startled out of my thoughts by Nami's voice.

"No, just…thinking it all" I answered her, just barely even bothering to look her way as she leaned up against the railing beside me before peering back out towards the island that we were now getting further and further away from. I wasn't really sad to see the island go, never cared much for the place to begin with.

"You know, I can't help but think" Nami suddenly hummed as she seemed to peer back at the island as well. "But won't the islanders be upset that we just took their best fighter away?" she questioned, tilting her head back just a little to peer up at the cloudless sky.

"Not really, but Aaron will" I grumbled with the roll of my eyes. "Let him throw his fit, there are other fighters on that island, so they'll find someone new in no time" I muttered as I rested my chin on the palm of my hand.

"Oh? Why were you chosen?" she curiously asked.

"Let's just say I was chosen for personal reasons and leave it at that" I said, ignoring the way she raised an eyebrow. "While you're here, I've got a question for you" I said, quick to change the subject before she could ask any more questions.

"Oh?"

"Tell me, do you know the full reason or—better yet—the real reason why your captain had decided out of the blue that he wanted me to join you all?" I asked, still hung up on the answer Luffy had given me. Surely my eyes really weren't the real reason he wanted me to join—surely there had to be more to this then what he was letting on.

"Luffy can sometimes be confusing with his decisions and doesn't always really explain why he makes them, but…I think what he told you back at the restaurant was his honest reasoning" she answered. "I'll admit, it was a little weak and confusing, but I think he really might have seen something in you" she smiled as I slowly nodded my head.

"Is that so?" I muttered as it went quiet between the two of us and it wasn't long after that the ginger haired woman wandered off, leaving me all alone as I continued to stare out towards the wide-open sea. We were already far enough away from the island that it was no longer in sight and…I couldn't help the slight pang in my heart the moment I thought about how far away I was now from my brothers. This really was the first time in our lives that we'll be this far apart, I wonder if that's a good or bad thing for us.

_"Be sure to cause up such a fuss that **he** sees it."_

"Don't worry, I will" I muttered as I tilted my head back and now stared up at the sky, recalling just how much venom there had been behind those words—words spoken out of hatred and spite with the desire to have the chance to get back at that **man**. "Though, I don't know how…" I softly admitted.

-Weeks Later-

"Hey, Skylar" I hummed as I peered up from the book in my lap, raising an eyebrow at the wide smiles I spotted on Usopp and Luffy's face the moment I looked at them. Despite it having been only a couple of weeks since our departure towards the Grand Line, I was still keeping up this silly little charade of mine—still pretending and acting as if I was truly a man. I'll admit, there have been a few close calls here and there, from nearly having certain individuals—Luffy—barging in when I'm in the middle of changing to small slip-ups here and there in the way that I spoke or acted. There have been moments where I was tempted to tell them the truth, tempted to ditch the chest binder and remove the bandana, tempted to just see their reactions in knowing that the young man that's been traveling with them for these past couple weeks was actually nothing more than a young woman. I wonder what their reaction would be, I wonder how differently they would treat me then if they knew that I wasn't the gender I portrayed myself to be.

Whenever I thought about that possibility, the possibility that their attitude towards me would drastically change because I wasn't the man they assumed me to be, it made me less inclined to tell them the truth. Part of me knew they probably wouldn't have treated me any different…well some of them would have, but that's beside the point. Part of me also knew that they'd eventually find the truth out on their own so there was no point in prolonging the inevitable, but…I've kind of been digging this sudden rush of excitement I've been getting every time I've almost been caught. There was just something so enthralling about having to come up with lies on the spot or getting snarky anytime one of the others would start to question my feminine behavior. Sure, it made it a lot harder to know if Zoro recognized me or not, but that's fine…yes, just fine…

"We were wondering if you'd want to join in on our game of tag since you aren't doing anything special" Usopp said as I peered between him and the captain—the two people on this ship I've actually been hanging with the most since I've boarded it. Nami didn't seem too big on hanging with me, Sanji was just plain rude and seemed annoyed most of the time if I even asked something of him, Zoro was…well he was still the same as I remember, constantly taking naps and not much for conversation. Though when we talk, there was something familiar and nice about it…well at least there was to me, not so sure about him. But so far, the captain and sharpshooter were the friendliest of people here, as well as the most energized with how often I'd watch them chase each other around the ship or start to tinker with one of the cannons.

"Sure, I've got nothing important to do" I shrugged as I closed the book in my lap and set it aside before standing up. "Well then, who's it?" I asked.

"You are!" I didn't have time to really react the moment Luffy poked my nose before he and the sharpshooter took off running, both loudly laughing.

"Wha—hey!" I couldn't help but laugh as I was quick to chase after them. It wasn't long before they had split off from one another and started to run in different directions and as they did, I found my sights zeroing in on Luffy and only would change my direction towards Usopp in an attempt to freak him out anytime I noticed that he was wandering just a bit too close to where I was. I wasn't sure when we had gotten too close towards the area that Zoro was napping in, but it wasn't long before both Luffy and I raced right over his stomach—both of us freezing in place the moment we heard the painful grunts that left the back of his throat as he was startled awake by the feeling of our feet smashing down on the center of his stomach as we ran by.

"Sorry, Zoro" Luffy apologized as I was quick to take note in the shift of the air around us the minute the swordsman sat up, from the corner of my eye I watched the way Usopp started to shake in utter fear as the captain seemed to simply wear an oblivious smile. He had already apologized so apparently he saw no reason to be scared or concerned. I found myself siding with Usopp on this one as I felt a shiver travel up my spine the moment I caught sight of the irritated glare the swordsman wore—when had he gotten so intimidating? He wasn't this scary when we were kids…at least I didn't think he was.

"I-It was those two! I-I had n-nothing to do w-with it!" Usopp sputtered out, quick to place the blame on Luffy and me.

"It was—" I stopped when I saw that the captain was no longer where I had seen him, a clear sign that he had bolted the minute he understood that his simple apology probably wasn't going to cut it. "You did not just leave me alone with this beast of a man!" I cried out before tensing up the moment I noticed just how close the swordsman had gotten, his face only mere inches away from my own at the moment. Loudly did I squeal and jump back as my hands flew up in some vain attempt to defend myself.

"That…that sound very girlish" Zoro seemed to owlishly blink, taking note in just how high pitched the squeal had sounded as he raised a questioning brow.

"Yeah, so?" I slowly lowered my hands, eye twitching in slight irritation at the remark he had made. "What of it?" I scowled as I placed my hands on my hips and huffed, and for a moment, I thought I saw a glint in those eyes of his that seemed to just disappear all too quickly as he shook his head.

"You're not very intimidating, kid" he chuckled as he rested a hand on top of my head and ruffled up my bandana slightly…you can imagine how thankful I was that he hadn't accidentally knocked the thing off or messed it up to the point that all my hair fell out.

"Nami, I have a report of love!" Sanji suddenly called from the crow's nest. "I see big rain clouds up ahead! There's a storm under them" he reported down to the ginger haired woman that had quietly been looking over the map in her hands this entire time.

"Looks like we're on course, we should be seeing the Red Line at any moment now…" Nami muttered to herself.

"The Grand Line at last!" Luffy widely grinned as he suddenly stretched his arms up towards the crow's nest and dragged himself right on up there. I owlishly blinked, still not used to the rubber man's abilities to stretch his body out in such an unnatural way. I still recalled the shock on my face the first time that I had witnessed him stretch one of his arms out, nearly suffering a heart attack out of surprise when he did. It's not that I've never heard of Devil Fruits before, I was indeed aware of their existence and knew exactly what they did, it's just… it's just been a long time since I've met someone with Devil Fruit abilities. So you can understand where my shock had come from at the sudden revelation that the captain could stretch his body in such an unnatural way.

"Hey, Sanji! We're finally going, we're finally going!" the rubber man laughed as he roughly patted the blonde's back.

"That hurts!" Sanji snapped as he kicked the raven-haired man in the face.

"Sorry…" Luffy weakly apologized, it wasn't long before Nami called us all into the kitchen—ushering us all inside with the desire to explain something important to us.

"Look here" she said as she placed down a map on the table. "I'd heard the rumors about it, and it's drawn on this map too! If it really is true, then the entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain!" she frowned.

"A mountain?" Luffy questioned.

"We got to crash into a mountain?" Zoro asked as Usopp suddenly started to struggle in handling the steering.

"You can't be serious" Sanji muttered.

"Didn't…didn't you all already know that?" I owlishly blinked. "Reverse Mountain isn't that big of a secret…at least I don't think it is" I said.

"Skylar? You knew about this?" Nami asked.

"Well yeah, I thought everyone heading to the Grand Line did—like I said, it's not that big of a secret" I said. "The mountain has canals that lead up to it, it even shows it on the map" I said as I leaned over and tapped a finger down on the map the navigator had laid out.

"Which means we have to go up it" Nami said.

"Neat!" Luffy grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro frowned. "Even if there are canals or whatever, a ship can't climb up a mountain!" he scoffed in disbelief.

"But that's what both the map and Skylar are literally saying!" Nami argued.

"Yeah, Nami would never say anything that's wrong!" Sanji snapped at the swordsman.

"But I'm the one that said it first…" I sweat dropped, I had learned fairly quickly that the cook before me was a ladies man with how he always seemed to fawn over Nami. I didn't know whether to pity him or laugh at him—so I normally did both.

"You stole that map from Buggy, right? Can we really trust it?" Zoro questioned. "And you've never been there before, so how sure are you in your claims?" he asked as he directed his attention towards me.

"Dare I say, are you accusing me of being a liar?" I feigned being hurt by his doubt in what I was telling him.

"H-hey! Someone help with the rudder!" Usopp finally cried out, still looking to be having trouble with the steering. "It won't budge!" he grounded out as he continued to pull at the unmoving steer.

"Sanji, give Usopp a hand!" Nami ordered. "I can't think with all his shouting" she grumbled.

"Yes, Nami dear!" Sanji cooed, quick to rush to the sharpshooter's side with love in his eyes before he suddenly stopped when he realized that the sharpshooter had been right and the steering wasn't moving at all.

"D-doesn't this current seem a bit strong?!" Usopp asked.

"Eh? Usopp, what did you just say?" Nami asked.

"D-doesn't this current seem a bit strong?!" he repeated.

"Current…that's it!" she suddenly gasped.

"That's what?" Luffy asked.

"Did you finally figure out how the mountain works?" I asked as I rested my chin in the palm of my hand and looked up at the navigator.

"You're right, they really do go up the mountain!" Nami nodded.

"Are you still saying that stuff?" Zoro frowned as the woman quickly motioned us all to peer down at the map. I had no care to really listen to the explanation in how the entrance to the Grand Line worked nor did I care about Usopp's angry shouts and demands for help as I instead now found my gaze wandering around the kitchen. It was decent and cozy, something I didn't expect to find on a pirate ship of all places.

"That's right, isn't it, Skylar?" I was jostled out of my thoughts by the navigator's voice.

"Yeah, that's how the mountain works" I agreed despite not having listened to a single word she said. "Smart girl, figured it out all by yourself" I smiled which seemed to cause the navigator to brighten, even if I hadn't heard her, I was aware just how smart Nami could be based on what I've seen and heard of her these past couple of weeks.

"Oh! Interesting!" Luffy grinned. "So basically, it's a mystery mountain!" he laughed.

"Well, maybe you don't get it" Nami heavily sighed.

"I think he gets it perfectly well!" I laughed, time passed and after a mistake that landed us in the Calm Belt—by some miracle we had found our way safely out—we were back on track.

"Hey! I see the mystery mountain!" Luffy shouted from the top of the mast, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the pouring rain.

"W-what?! T-that's insanely huge!" Usopp gaped the moment he cause sight of the mountain

"The entrance to the Grand Line…" Nami muttered.

"So that's the Red Line, huh?!" Luffy widely smiled.

"Bigger than I imagined" I whistled in amazement.

"I-I-I can't see the top because of the clouds!" Usopp sputtered out before most of us screamed in surprise the moment the ship jostled as it was caught up in the harsh currents that started to drag us in.

"We're getting sucked in!" Luffy shouted as he tightly clutched onto the mast and began to bounce up and down the second he was thrown from his perch. "Hold the rudder good!" he ordered.

"We're on it!" Zoro nodded.

"N-Nami, where's the entrance?!" Luffy frantically asked when he saw that it was a bit difficult to see any form of a canal opening with how dense the fog almost seemed to be. "We're going to crash into the rocks if we keep going this way!" he cried out.

"The crack in that cliff…" Nami muttered.

"Nami! What do we do?!" Usopp asked as both he and Sanji did their best to hold the rudder steady.

"Keep going straight ahead!" Nami ordered.

"A-are you serious?!" Usopp gaped.

"Just do it!" she huffed, not allowing the command to be put up for debate.

"She's the navigator, so I say we should trust what she says" I said, leaning back against the railing and just taking a moment to enjoy the harsh sounds of the waves crashing against the base of the mountain.

"Nami, is that the canal entrance?" Luffy asked as he came down and squeezed his way between me and the navigator.

"Most likely" Nami nodded.

"This can't be for real" Zoro muttered as he peered through a pair of binoculars. "The damn ocean really is flowing up the mountain!" he gawked in disbelief.

"A bizarre entrance for a bizarre place" I hummed, recalling just how famous the Grand Line was for both its danger and for what many considered odd occurrences.

"We got to make our way through those water gates just right!" Nami huffed as she motioned to the stone gates that lined the canal and were meant to keep any ships that passed through them on a straight and steady path. "Otherwise the ship will be busted into pieces!"

"We're getting off course! More to the right! Right, right!" Luffy quickly demanded when he saw that the ship was starting to sway to one side.

"The right?! Go Starboard!" Usopp shouted as he and Sanji struggled to turn the rudder.

"Oh boy, that's not good" I remarked the moment the steering snapped in two due to how hard the two men had been pushing against it in an attempt to turn the rudder.

"The rudder!" the others screamed in horror as the ship continued to stray off course.

"Gum Gum…Balloon!" Luffy jumped from the ship, sucking in a large amount of air until his body inflated—he allowed the ship to bounce itself off of him and get back on course.

"Luffy, grab on!" Zoro held out his hand for the rubber man to take so that he wouldn't fall into the ocean and be left behind.

"I'm still having trouble getting used to that" I muttered as I watched the way the captain crashed into the deck of the ship—his landing rough as he seemed to go straight through the floorboards.

"We made it!" everyone cheered as the rain slowly came to a stop and the ship began to climb her way up the mountain.

"Now it's just a straight shot to the summit!" Nami grinned as she removed her coat and held it up high.

"Hey, I want to see! I want to see!" Luffy muffledly shouted as he tried to pull his head free from the deck of the ship. "I'm unstuck! Hey, let me see too!" he excitedly grinned as soon as he was free and rushed towards the ship's railing. Laughing as he watched how the ship smoothly sailed her way up towards the top of the mountain.

-After the Whale Incident-

"Man, I'm still trying to process what exactly happened back there" I chuckled, mind still hung up on the events that had taken place back on Twin Cape as I peered right out the kitchen window. Almost looking entranced by the snow that lightly fluttered down and coated the whole deck of the ship in a white blanket—normally I was never given this chance to appreciate just how beautiful and peaceful snow could be when coming down, so it was nice. Nami didn't really seem to agree based on the way she had irritably begun to complain about the sudden shift and weather after we had set sail and left Crocus and Laboon behind. Usopp and Luffy though seemed to think otherwise as the two of them were currently outside, excitedly building a variety of interesting snow creations.

"Yeah, you're telling me" Nami grumbled as she irritably glared at the two new guests we had acquired after our adventure in Laboon—their names were Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday…such strange alias to go by. I softly laughed as I watched how her lips were drawn downwards into an annoyed frown as she appeared displeased with their constant complaining despite the mercy we had shown them by allowing them to travel with us on our ship.

"It's too cold" they both would cry out while occasionally making snide remarks about the ship itself, not a single sign of gratitude in either one of them. Ignoring their complaints, I watched from the corner of my eye as Nami tried to just distract herself by studying the new compass we had acquired along with our guests, I believe Crocus called it a Log Pose—it was something that many pirates used to help traverse the Grand Line, a compass that set its sights on the magnetic field of the first island it could lock onto. Curiously did she look through the glass spear and watched how the needle inside wobbled around as it was simply only suspended up by a thin piece of string...or was it wire that was holding it up?

"What the…?" she inquired in confusion before suddenly the expression on her face morphed into a look of pure horror.

"What? What is it?" I asked, now fully turning away from the window to look towards her as I quickly took note of how she looked as if she about ready to break down the longer she stared down at the compass in her hands. With lightning-fast speed, she seemed to just fly right out of her seat and out onto the deck where the others were.

"Turn the ship around right now!" she frantically commanded. "We're sailing in the wrong direction! We have to go back!" she cried, her voice strained as the others now piped up with their own remarks upon learning this news—many confused or not fully understanding what she was saying. Slowly did I wander out of the kitchen and outside to stand next to her, Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday both following right behind me as they curiously poked their heads out to listen to whatever it was that had the ginger haired woman worked up.

"What do you mean we're going the wrong way?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did the ship just up and decide to turn itself around while none of us were paying attention?" I questioned; not understand how we could have gotten turned around so easily.

"I'm not sure myself, but it seems that's exactly what must have happened" Nami frowned, her voice nearly cracking from how strained it was as she seemed to slowly become more and more distressed the longer we all took to do as she had said. Miss Wednesday soon made a remark that only seemed to further aggravate the navigator, but before anything else could be said or done, the weather suddenly started to change. The delicate snow that was once falling gently started to pick up before completely changing into harsh winds and pelting rain. Upon noticing this, Nami didn't waste any time as she now started to frantically shout out orders to all of us—started to make demands that had us all scampering about. It felt as if everything had just gone to hell at that very moment as leaks suddenly started to pop up below the ship while we all ran around like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off in some vain attempt to keep the boat afloat and to get ourselves back on course.

By the time everything seemed to calm down, we now found ourselves sprawled out on the floor of the deck—heavily panting in exhaustion, soaking wet and tired as we tried to catch our breathes and calm our hearts. Soon there was a loud grunt that broke through the air as a certain swordsman decided to finally sit up, seemingly waking up just now from the nap that he had been taking earlier. How anyone could sleep through, let alone in, that kind of weather was beyond me. Through tired eyes I watched how the swordsman looked around at us all, his eyebrows furrowing when he took note of our tired and slumped over bodies before taking a moment to peer up towards the sky which now showcased a clear, bright and sunny day.

"Geez, just because it's nice outside, doesn't mean you guys have to be lazy" he remarked which earned him nothing but hateful and irritated glares from everyone around. I simply rolled my eyes and tiredly pushed myself up into a sitting position. My head tilted back as I now peered up towards the cloudless sky myself, taking a moment to silently admire how everything appeared to be so peaceful right now. It was so vastly different from the chaos that had occurred just a few moments ago. Soon though, I felt my ears twitch when I suddenly heard Zoro speak up again, and when I looked towards him, I found that he had now started to poke at Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday.

Slight irritation seemed to wash over me the longer I watched him with a tired and drained look. I was simply in no mood for him to go and start picking fights after everything that just happened as I simply stood and quickly made my way towards him, passing by an irritated Nami who looked just about ready to lunge at the swordsman and strangle him herself. Coming to a stop behind him, I harshly hit the back of his head as hard as I could which had been enough to earn me a small grunt as his hands flew to the back of his skull to now cradle the new bump there.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "At least they helped us, unlike your lazy ass!" I huffed as I crossed my arms and stormed my way back over towards Nami.

"Thanks" she muttered, looking relieved that she didn't have to get up and hit the swordsman herself.

"No problem" I grunted as I stopped by her, now reaching up to fix my soaking wet bandana the best that I could. Unable to stop the sight that left my lips when I found that the water it had absorbed from the rain was now starting to make it feel uncomfortable to wear. Looks like I was going to need to change it, won't that be fun.

"Wow, you really pissed "him" off there" Usopp muttered as Luffy seemed to burst out into a fit of laughter as if he found my sudden sour mood to be the funniest thing in the world.

"Shut up" I couldn't help but smile a little as I heard Zoro grumble this to the two before he stood up and wandered off somewhere else on the ship. Still rubbing the back of his head as he did so.

-Later-

"We're here, Whiskey Peak!" Luffy loudly cheered from his spot at the very front of the ship. He seemed to really enjoy sitting on top of the ram's head I found, though I don't know why as I would feel that would be the worst place for a Devil Fruit user to sit due to how easy it would be for him to just slip right off. I had just currently walked back out onto the deck as soon as he said this, having finished exchanging my wet bandana for a dryer and cleaner one along with the rest of my clothes that had been soaked by the hellish storm we had suffered through earlier.

"How can you tell with all this fog?" I asked, squinting my eyes as I tried to peer through the thick fog that had settled around us and made it difficult to see anything that wasn't only a few feet away.

"Just can" was the answer I had received which caused me to sweat drop as I simply stared at the rubber man as if waiting for him to laugh and give the real answer—he never did.

"Sure, I'll take that" I shrugged as I straightened my bandana, double-checking to make sure all loose strands of hair were safely tucked inside and that there were no chances that the thing would fall off at any point in the day…it's happened before on windy days and it was a miracle no one had been around when it did. When the fog finally did start to clear up, we all slowly became aware of the large amount of people that were crowded around the docks we were heading towards. This put everyone on their guard as we drew closer and closer before suddenly, confusion swept over us when we began to hear the sounds of cheering. Upon docking and stepping off the ship, we were greeted by the island's mayor—Igaram. The way he spoke to us didn't feel like someone who was speaking to a bunch of pirates, but instead, it felt like someone who was speaking to a bunch of old friends who they hadn't seen in such a long time.

' _What town cheers for pirates?_ ' I frowned as we were all being lead towards the local bar. I didn't know if any of the others felt off about all this the same way I did or if they were too distracted by the feast that was presented to us to care about how strange this all was. It felt weird to be surrounded by people who looked like they were actually having fun and enjoying themselves during a party. Scratch that, it was weird in general seeing a party that was this loud and exciting—a party that was energetic instead of classy and extravagant. The others seemed to enjoy themselves in their own sections as they all practically split away from one another—Luffy stuck close to the buffet and seemed to just stuff his face with as much food as he could while Nami and Zoro both kept knocking back drink after drink as if the alcohol was nothing to them.

Sanji looked as if he was in heaven with the number of women that now surrounded him, and Usopp seemed quite pleased to have someone to tell his wild tales to as the occupants of this island seemed to just stare up at him in awe. If I'm being honest, I too had found his stories interesting when he first approached me with one of his tales—it had been far too exaggerated for me to take seriously, but it had still be wonderful enough to keep be enraptured and listening until the very end. But, then there was me, what was I supposed to do? Events like this weren't my forte, they never had been and they never will be. Soon enough, I found myself tucked away in one of the corners in some vague attempt to hide myself away as if I was a child of five once more and was just wanting to hide away from the prying eyes of all the strange adults around me, occasionally giving nervous smiles to all those that attempted to speak to me.

Their over the top smiles and looks of interest all felt so…fake, so disingenuous. Something I was so familiar with that it made me uncomfortable to even look at them, but in the end, I shrugged the feeling off. It seemed my actions of refusing to interact with others and politely declining any alcoholic beverages offered to me seemed to catch the mayor's attention as he soon came over and gave me a wide, yet strained smile.

"Care for a drink?" he offered as he held out another cup of liquor—just the sight and smell of it was enough to make my stomach churn, it didn't smell as strong as the junk **she** used to drink, but the smell was still familiar.

"No, thanks" I politely declined once again with the shake of my head as I softly pushed the cup back towards him. "I'm not much of a drinker, but…I wouldn't mind taking a nap though…" I mumbled lowly to myself as I looked around me at the people who had taken it upon themselves to sit nearby as if attempting to keep my company. In the moments when they didn't talk to me, they all looked as if they were genuinely happy—in fact now that I thought about it. It seems all the other villagers seemed to do the exact same thing with the others, always looking the happiest when they didn't actually have to talk to anyone of us.

"Is that so?" I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked towards Igaram the minute he spoke.

"Excuse me?" I asked with the tilt of my head.

"Come along, it seems the young "lad" would like some peace" Igaram said with the simple clap of his hands as he motioned for the people around me to stand. "I'm sure our other guests wouldn't mind some more company, though, I don't think they'll last much longer either" he said with a heartfelt laugh as he looked around and took note in how everyone looked as if they were starting to grow tired from all of the excitement of today. I watched as everyone around me nodded their heads and broke off into separate groups, all of them now wandering over to one of the other Straw Hats that were still semi-awake and coherent.

"Wait, you didn't have…to do…that…" I my voice grew smaller and smaller as I watched the white-haired man leave to go somewhere else, never once acknowledging that I had said anything as he left me all alone. Heaving a tired sigh, I leaned back and tilted my head upwards to peer up at the ceiling. "Well then" I huffed before sliding further down into my seat and pulling my bandana down over my eyes as I attempted to relax.

-Later-

I don't know how many hours had passed by before nightfall came as everyone around me passed out asleep one by one…or at least my crewmates did because soon after they all fell asleep, I heard the villagers all stand and whisper to one another as they exited the bar. Peeking out from underneath my bandana, I silently stood up the minute I noticed that the coast was clear and started to stretch out my limbs. Moaning just a little the moment I heard my back pop in a satisfying way.

"Skylar, is that you?" I perked up to the sound of Nami's voice as she sat herself up in her seat.

"Yeah, it's me" I nodded as I stepped over everyone's bodies and made my way towards the table that the navigator was seated at. As I was made my way over to her, I couldn't help but take note of how Zoro seemed to be missing from the group of men scattered on the floor and wasn't passed out of any of the other tables. "It seems that the villagers here are all bounty hunters, quite a surprise, don't you think?" I sarcastically asked as Nami quietly snorted.

"Yeah, it seems so" she nodded, already standing up and making her way out of the building through the back door with me lazily trailing after behind her.

"Where are you going, anyway?" I inquired as I followed, the both of us sticking close to the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings in an attempt to avoid being spotted by any of the bounty hunters on the island. Instead of an answer, she only motioned for me to stay quiet as we snuck into one of the houses where she immediately started going through the occupant of this home's things.

"I used to be a thief before I became a pirate, well technically, I still am a theif" Nami said as she hastily searched through the drawers of the bedside table as I slowly nodded my head.

"And you never thought to tell be me this before because…?" I asked, motioning for her to fill in the rest with her answer as we made our way to the next house. I took note of how she seemed a little frustrated after she hadn't found whatever it was she wanted in the first house.

"Didn't find it all that important to share, maybe I'll tell you the full story someday, but not today" she said with the dismissive wave of her hand as she started searching this house, seemingly gaining the same results as before. Slowly as the minutes ticked by, we seemed to have checked almost all of the houses in the village—none of them were exactly that big to begin with—and it seems that the results were the same for each one of them. There was nothing of value in any of them, nothing at all. "Dammit!" she hissed as she angrily slammed the desk drawer she had open in frustration. "You'd think that with a village filled with bounty hunters, there would at least be some treasure lying around!" she huffed.

"Well, that depends" I said from my spot by the window. My ears occasionally twitching at the distant sound of a commotion going on outside—I wonder what it was? Well…actually, I had my theories on who exactly was making that ruckus out there. "Perhaps these people are just terrible at their job and we just sadly mistaken them to be good at it" I suggested with the shrug of my shoulders. Nami opened her mouth, looking ready to respond back with a snippy remark before quickly clamping her jaw shut as an ear-piercing scream suddenly pierced through the air along with the echo of gunfire.

I tensed at the sound, a sound that was nothing more than a mixed bag as there were days where I could quietly forget and ignore it, just as much as there were days where I found myself thrown back into memories of days long since passed and were best left forgotten. Hesitantly, Nami and I exchanged glances with one another—both of us silently questioning what had happened before finally deciding to investigate where the unnerving sounds had come from.

"Please, you have to help the princess! I promise you'll be rewarded greatly!" was the first thing I heard as we drew closer to the spot the commotion had taken place. I skidded to a stop at the entrance of a narrowed alleyway the moment I spotted the two people that were crowded inside it.

"A reward you say?" Nami butted in before I could open my mouth to ask what had happened. "Just how much are we talking here?" she asked, her eyes lighting up and almost greedily looking exactly like beli signs. ' _Well, she did say she's a thief and thieves do love anything valuable_ ' I sweat dropped. Despite her lack of caring about anything else other than money at the moment, she did at least decide to be kind enough to hear the mayor out as he quickly explained everything that he could to us—explained who he and Miss Wednesday really were. "Right" the navigator nodded in understanding once he was finished before she turned her attention towards Zoro who had been silent this whole time, not looking to really care either way what was happening.

"Zoro, go after the princess and save her" she suddenly ordered, motioning with her hand for him to quickly move along and not waste another minute as if he was her servant and she was his master. This didn't seem to bide over well with the moss haired man at first as an argument was quick to break out between the two—him refusing to go and demanding to know why she couldn't just go herself as she was the only one really wanting the money. Ignoring them, I simply walked over to Igaram and bent down, helping to set him up and lean him back against the alley's wall so that he was no longer just lying on the ground.

"There, that should be more comfortable" I softly smiled as I looked at the man. "How are you feeling? Looks like moss head did a great deal of damage, but I don't think it's enough to be considered lethal. Still might want to get it looked at, though seeing how I'm not a doctor" I remarked the minute I spotted the nasty slash that ran across his chest from where he had been cut.

"Is there a reason you're being so kind?" Igaram couldn't help but ask as he looked at me with curious eyes. "I mean, we did just try to kill you and your friends" he remarked, nearly sounding out of breath as his body seemed to quiver in pain—shivering as if the mere act of breathing hurt too much for it to bear.

"That may be so, but it was for a good reason" I hummed. "I can't really stay mad at someone that does what they need to, to protect the place they call home—to protect the people they care about" I lightly shrugged as I fully sat myself down on the ground and leaned back against my arms.

"Skylar" Nami suddenly said.

"Hm?" I hummed as I looked towards her, quick to take notice of how Zoro was already gone. "I see you finally convinced him to do your bidding" I noted, watching as she gave a devious smile.

"Blackmail is such a wondrous thing" she seemed to blissfully sigh. "But, what I wanted to tell you, is that I want you to go on and join Zoro in protecting the princess—knowing that idiot, he might get lost" she said as she motioned with her head towards the direction Zoro had probably run off in.

"I'm sure Zoro can handle such a simple task, this place isn't that big so it shouldn't be that hard for him to track down the princess" I tilted my head, chuckling at the hard look in her eyes as if she was annoyed that I hadn't agreed right away to do as she wanted. "Alright, I'm going, I'm going—don't get your panties in a twist" I laughed as I stood up and walked in the direction she was pointing in.

"Just go!" she snapped, harshly glaring holes into the back of my head as I left. It wasn't until the sounds of explosions did I really start to pick up the pace and shift my leisurely stroll into a full-on sprint. I soon came to a skidded halt beside Miss Wednesday who just so happened to be the princess—I believe Igaram said her real name was Vivi—and a large duck that she was currently sitting on. I couldn't help but stare at the animal, my cheeks flushing just a little as small stars appeared in my eyes and I felt so tempted to just reach out and pet the animal.

"I didn't know ducks could get this big…" I muttered which caused the princess to flinch as she quickly turned her head and look at me, seemingly calming down when she saw my familiar face. "Princess, are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?" I inquired the minute I had her attention, pleased as I watched how she shook her head—good, Nami won't kill me then. All too quickly was both hers and my attention drawn towards Zoro. I took note of how he had all his swords out, all three of them, as he stood before two strange people.

One was a dark-skinned man whose eyes were shielded behind a pair of sunglasses and the other was a blonde-haired woman who was dressed in all yellow…she must really like lemons. I rested a hand on my own swords and straightened my posture, now on high alert just like him as soon as I became aware of the two strangers. I had faith that Zoro could take them both with complete ease, but you never know if one of them would decide to just slip by him while the other distracted him.

"Zoro!" we all froze the moment we heard Luffy's enraged voice echo through the air. "I'm going to kick your ungrateful ass!" he angrily shouted.


	4. Chapter Four

"What?" Vivi owlishly blinked, perplexed by the sudden aggression that came from the rubber man who not mere hours ago was laughing and having the time of his life.

"Hey, Zoro, what did you do to piss him off?" I called out with a raised eyebrow, staring at the swordsman in curiosity as I tried to recall if he had done anything recently that might have upset the captain.

"What do you mean "what did I do?" I didn't do a damn thing!" Zoro snapped before looking towards our captain who started to rush down the hill that he had been standing on—running straight towards Zoro with a furious look in his eyes. Perhaps if the captain wasn't inflated to the size of a balloon I would have taken the sight before me more serious...but I couldn't, he just looked too ridiculous for me to even think about taking seriously.

"Oh! Ow!" I winced the moment Zoro harshly kicked the raven-haired man and sent him flying straight towards the two people he had been about to face himself, knocking them both back in the process. "That's got to hurt" I mumbled, scrunching up my nose before shaking my head as I turned my attention towards the princess.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" she asked, looking quite concerned about the events that were currently unfolding.

"Nah, they'll be fine" I assured her with the dismissive wave of my hand. "Once I'm sure Luffy's gotten out whatever anger he's built up, he'll be easier to talk to" I said. "So, princess—"

"Just call me Vivi" she interrupted

"Right" I nodded. "So, Vivi, mind giving me the basic rundown on the situation at hand?" I asked. "Like who exactly those two over there are?" I inquired while motioning with my head towards the two individuals that Zoro had just knocked back by using Luffy.

"Those two? If I'm correct, they go by the names Mr. Five and Miss Valentine's Day, both employees of Baroque Works" Vivi explained after a moment of thought.

"I see" I mumbled with a nod, my attention once more brought back towards Luffy and Zoro who both were stilling going at it. It was quite clear to me though that their fighting seemed to have now frustrated Mr. Five and Miss Valentine's Day as the two now attempted to interfere—attempted to shove their way into the two pirates fight as if wanting to prove that they weren't meant to be taken lightly. Neither of them got very far though as Luffy and Zoro didn't even bother to spare them a second glance before they knocked them both out of the way. It was clear that their minds were only focused on the fight between themselves and nothing else. "See that's why it was for the best not to jump right on in" I said, rubbing the back of my neck the moment I caught sight of Vivi's terrified look.

"T-they took them both out in the blink of an eye!" she sputtered out in shock. I only hummed in agreement, now crossing my arms over my chest as I continued to watch the fight between the two of them—it wasn't long before it eventually just turned into a full-blown fistfight that led to them hitting one another's face at the exact same time with the exact same force that sent each of them flying back. I winced as their bodies painfully crashed through the walls of two nearby buildings which caused such a large mess of debris and dust as silence now finally settled between us all.

"Are the two of you finished now?" I asked aloud, uncrossing my arms and placing my hands on my hips as I patiently waited for them to answer. My actions seemed to receive me a raised eyebrow from the princess due to how feminine the stance was as opposed to how a man would stand when waiting to receive an answer. I was quick to fix my mistake as I continued to stare ahead at the mess the two had created during their brawl, soon raising an eyebrow when neither one seemed to answer as silence was the only response I received.

"Come on, Carue" Vivi suddenly cooed out, her voice soft and comforting as she petted the top of the duck's head. ' _Carue...what a nice name_ ' I softly smiled before curiously watching as she and her duck started to slowly inch forward.

"I'm not so sure that's the best thing to do right now" I said, crossing my arms behind my head while staying put—they were silent now, but I had no doubt that they would quickly recover from the blows they had received and would most likely go straight back to fighting, I doubt they've gotten everything out of their system. Vivi seemed to only brush off my words as she and Carue carefully moved forward and it wasn't until she was halfway through did she come to a halt, startled as the two men suddenly stood up and lunged at one another once again—both ready for round two of their fight.

"You idiots!" Nami's sharp growl suddenly cut through the air. "You're supposed to be protecting the princess so I can get my money!" I winced as I watched how she violently struck the back of the two's heads and sent them both crashing into the ground—both of them now groaning in pain as she picked them right back up by the back of their shirts and gave them both the most venomous glare she could muster.

"When did you get here?" I asked, carefully inching my way towards the woman as I did my best to be mindful not to get too close unless I wanted to risk getting hit myself.

"That's not important right now, what's important is knowing why you didn't stop the two of them!" she angrily snapped, quick to jab a finger in my direction. Man, if looks could kill, I was sure I would have already been six feet under by now. 

"Tch! Sorry, sweetheart, but I don't really have a death wish right now" I scoffed with the roll of my eyes.

"What? What's this about money?" Vivi butted in before Nami had the chance to wring my neck out like I knew she wanted to based on the way she was glaring me down for my response.

"Oh! That's right, we need to talk" the ginger seemed to calm down just a little as soon as she turned her attention towards the princess whose head was tilted in confusion. Her attitude now seemed to just change into a much sweeter one opposed to her venomous tone that she had just a few seconds ago towards the rest of us. "Will you two quit it?!" she irritably snapped the minute Luffy and Zoro tried to start another fight with one another as they now smacked and pulled at each other's hair in a childish manner while still in her hold. I couldn't help but turn my head to the side, raising a hand to cover my mouth as I attempted to stifle my laughter at the ridiculous sight.

-Later-

"So you see, in return for protecting you, I get one million beli" Nami finished explaining.

"Oh, well you see…that might be a problem..." Vivi hesitantly mumbled, quick in directing her gaze elsewhere as she nervously scratched at her cheek. It seems this small action of hers and the sudden change in her behavior was enough to instantly catch Nami's attention.

"Why's that?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow as she leaned forward, looking quite curious to know why the princess would have such trouble in rewarding us for offering to safely deliver her back to her kingdom. Despite being hesitant at first, Vivi didn't waste a minute as she went straight into explaining the current problem that seemed to be plaguing her homeland.

"Oh, I see" I said once she had finished her explanation. "Since you're in the middle of a civil war currently, it makes sense that you wouldn't have that much money" I noted which caused Nami's shoulders to slump downwards as a dejected look settled on her face.

"That makes sense" she mumbled in agreement as she leaned back against the wall behind her and let her head droop.

"So, what's the boss' name?" Luffy suddenly asked, now eagerly leaning forward from where he was seated as it seems he had become quite curious about the villain in the princess' story.

"Excuse me?" Vivi owlishly blinked, not quite following along with what the pirate was asking.

"The boss' name? Come on, you have to know it, don't you?" he asked once again, this time provoking a reaction from the blue haired woman as she fearfully took a step back and raised her hands. Wildly shaking them in front of her as she harshly shook her head from side to side.

"Yes, I do—but please, ask me anything but that!" her voice was strained, her tone was frantic, and her eyes were wide with fear as a nervous sweat started to build up upon her brow. "This man is quite dangerous and he would not hesitate to kill you if I were to reveal his name to you!" she warned.

"You're right" Nami nervously laughed as a strained smile now tugged at her lips. "I mean, this guy is trying to take over a whole country" her voice quivered in slight fear, similar to Vivi's.

"Well yeah, that's true—but I mean, what's so bad about his name?" I asked, not seeing why either woman was getting worked up over this. "It's not as if he could hear us from all the way out here" I pointed out, raising an eyebrow as Luffy excitedly nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, so it wouldn't hurt for you to tell us" he grinned.

"Trust me, none of you would have a chance against a Warlord like Crocodile" Vivi suddenly claimed which caused a thick silence to fall between us all that was soon disturbed by the sound of a bird's wings flapping from the top of the building right beside us which was then shortly followed by a vulture's cry. Looking up, we quickly spotted the strangely dressed vulture that sat peacefully on top of the building along with an otter who was sitting on its back. With another caw, the bird soon took flight with the otter clinging to it's back the minute it had noticed that we had spotted it.

"You idiot!" Nami cried out as she harshly grabbed the front of Vivi's jacket and begin to violently shake her back and forth. "Why did you open your mouth?!" she cried out, tears now rushing down both of their faces as Vivi babbled out incoherent apologies.

"Was that just a vulture and an otter? How long had they even been sitting there?" I questioned, curiously staring out in the direction the two animals had disappeared in.

"Cool!" Luffy laughed in excitement at the sight as he happily clapped his hands, and I could not tell if his excitement was based around the fact that the princess' enemy was a Warlord or if it was because of the two animals that had been eavesdropping on our conversation. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked when he noticed that Nami was starting to walk away.

"They don't even know what I look like yet! So I'm leaving!" she angrily shouted right back.

"Where would you even go?" I asked.

"Don't know, don't care! Just as long as it's away from here!" she huffed before stopping and clapping her hands in awe as the vulture and otter returned, now holding up detailed drawn pictures of us all for her to see. "Wow! That's amazing" she praised, before angrily turning around and storming her way back towards us with a scowl on her face. "Now what are we supposed to do?!" she snapped.

"Worry not, I will lead them off your trail" a new voice suddenly piped up which caused me to turn my gaze away from the fuming navigator and instead towards the owner of the voice. An uncomfortable feeling soon settled into the pit of my stomach when I spotted Igaram who was now dressed up in clothes that looked similar to Vivi's...the man did not make a good looking woman. Well, more like the clothes weren't really his style.

"You look funny, old man!" Luffy burst out laughing upon seeing the older man, finding great amusement in the costume he wore.

"Igaram, what are you doing?" Vivi questioned, looking quite surprised by the sight before her and the man's sudden appearance out of nowhere.

"I will be disguised as you, princess, and—along with these dummies—I will buy you and the others some time to escape" Igaram simply explained as he held up a total of four dummies.

-Later-

"Bye, old man!" Luffy happily waved along with the rest of us as we watched Igaram set sail in his own boat—one that was of a decent-sized as he now had the four dummies leaned up against the railing of the ship so that they would appear almost like the figures of regular people from a distance.

"I got to give him credit on those dummies, from this distance, they almost look like real people" I remarked, impressed with how it felt like the man's plan might actually work...just as long as no one got close enough to get a good look at him or the dummies he had set out.

"Yeah, they kind of do now that I look at them" Nami agreed with a smile...though it wasn't long before whatever peace that had been between us all was soon destroyed by the sudden sound of a loud explosion that came from the small ship Igaram had taken. It was an explosion that had been large enough to light up the night sky as it quickly set the entire boat aflame and ate away at the wood quicker than anyone would have been able to jump ship and dive underwater to survive.

"Igaram!" Vivi screamed in horror, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as her knees finally gave out on her and she dropped to the ground. Nami was the first to snap out of her horrified state, reacting quickly as she dropped down to her knees and wrapped her arms around the distraught princess in a comforting manner.

"We're going to have to go now if we don't want Igaram's efforts to go to waste!" she shouted. "Luffy, go get Sanji and Usopp and bring them to the ship!" she ordered with a snap, already motioning for the rubber man to go without a second glance. "Skylar, Zoro—let's go" she told us, quick to stand both her and Vivi up, pushing the young princess to move as we quickly rushed our way towards the ship.

-Later-

Once we had all boarded the ship and set sail away from Whisky Peak, all that was left to do was for Nami to simply explain to Sanji and Usopp what was going on—all she needed to do was catch them up to speed, and then we should be good. Though, to be honest, I found her method of explaining to be a bit violent. Softly did I pat Vivi's back, occasionally rubbing circles around it as I mumbled comforting words to her in an attempt to her through her grief as she silently mourned Igaram's death. Despite everything though, Nami couldn't help but voice her relief over the fact that we had managed to get away so easily without any trouble. Eventually, her words started receiving responses from a strange, yet calming voice that didn't really sound familiar...wait a minute.

It seems I hadn't been the only one to notice this new voice as we all quickly turned towards the owner of it. Easily spotting the raven-haired woman who was comfortably seated up on top of one of the ship's railings, silently staring down at us all in quiet amusement. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes in suspicion as I wondered how exactly she had managed to make her way onto the ship with such ease that none of us had spotted or heard her doing so.

"Who's that?" Zoro asked.

"I-It's you!" Vivi sputtered out, her eyes widening as she stumbled back in an attempt to put some distance between herself and this strange woman.

"I just happened to run into Mr. Eight a short while ago, he didn't look so good" the woman grinned. 

"You killed Igaram!" Vivi sneered a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

"You! What are you doing on my ship?!" Luffy angrily asked. "And how did you get here?! Who are you?!" he snapped.

"Answer him! What are you doing here, Miss All Sunday?!" Vivi glared.

"So you know who she is?" Nami questioned. "Which of the number guys is she partnered with?" she asked.

"Her partner is Mr. Zero, the boss" Vivi answered.

"Gah! Crocodile's her partner?!" Nami cried out.

"She's a bad guy?" Luffy questioned.

"She was the only one who knew the boss' identity—that's how we found out who he actually is, by following her back to him" Vivi explained. 

"To be accurate, I allowed it" Miss All Sunday lazily smiled.

"So she's a good guy then" Luffy said, not quite following along with what was happening.

"I know you knew we were there, you were the one who told the boss what we knew!" Vivi snapped. "Weren't you?!" she frowned.

"That's right" Miss All Sunday nodded.

"Alright then she is bad" Luffy grumbled.

"Luffy, would you cut it out already?" Zoro asked in annoyance.

"She's a bad guy, Luffy, just leave it at that" I said.

"You still haven't told us what it is you're doing here!" Vivi snapped.

"Oh, right" Miss All Sunday said as she realized that she had yet to answer the questions from earlier. "You were just so serious about the whole thing that I couldn't help myself—a princess doing whatever it'd take to help her country while making herself an enemy of Baroque Works, the idea was just so...ridiculous" she chuckled.

"You killed him!" Vivi hatefully screamed as we all pulled out and pointed our preferred weapons right at the woman, each of us now looking ready for a fight.

"Sanji...um...you do realize what you're doing here, right?" Usopp asked from his spot on Miss All Sunday's left where he had his slingshot drew back and pointed right at her.

"Nope, not a clue—I just know that the beautiful Miss Wednesday needs me" Sanji said from his spot on Miss All Sunday's right where he had a gun pointed at her head.

"I would really appreciate it if you would stop pointing those at me" Miss All Sunday sighed as Sanji and Usopp were suddenly tossed over the side of the railing and down onto the deck of the ship while the rest of us were forced to drop our weapons.

"You mean..." Zoro clenched his jaw as mine and his swords were suddenly smacked right out of our hands which caused them to clatter to the ground

"She's eaten..." Vivi frowned.

"A Devil Fruit" Zoro glared.

"Yeah, it seems so, but what exactly's her power?" I questioned after having not been able to catch a glimpse at what exactly had knocked all of our weapons from our hands or what she had done to so easily be able to toss two full-grown men over the railing and down onto the deck of the ship.

"Wow! Now that I get a look, you're beautiful!" Sanji swooned as his one visible eye turned into a heart the second he looked up and finally got a good look at the woman above him.

"Now there's no need to get so excited, you can all calm down, I haven't been given any orders to follow here" Miss All Sunday assured us. "I have no reason to fight you" she said as she suddenly stole Luffy's hat and began to spin it around on her finger. "So, you're the captain—I heard so much about you, Monkey D. Luffy" she said.

"Give me my hat back! You want me to come up there and take it!" Luffy snapped, his breathing now heavy due to his sudden anger.

"You are a bad person, I demand you leave this instant!" Usopp frowned.

"Bad luck, taking up a princess who Baroque Works has already made up their mind to see eliminated" Miss All Sunday grinned as she placed Luffy's hat on top of her head. "Protected by a mere handful of pirates" she seemed to tease. "But you're luck gets even worse because of the direction your Log Pose is indicating, you see" she said which caused Nami to quickly look down at the Log Pose. "The name of the next island is Little Garden" she grinned. "We won't even need to lift a finger, you'll all be dead long before you reach Alabasta."

"My hat, give it to me!" Luffy demanded.

"I told you to leave now, e-evildoer!" Usopp shouted.

"Evildoer? Seriously?" Zoro questioned.

"Yes, keep calling her such childish insults, that surely will get her to leave" I sarcastically said.

"You don't think it's a little foolish?" Miss All Sunday asked. "Allowing yourselves to be wiped out?" she grinned as she finally gave Luffy his hat back and tossed a small item towards Vivi. Looking over at her, I leaned in close to peer at the item only to find that it was just an Eternal Pose. "With that, you'll be able to avoid Little Garden altogether and head straight to an island that's just short of Alabasta, Nanimonai" she explained, her grin seeming to widen as she added on the small comment about how the chances of our pursuers following us there would be slim.

"She's...helping us?" Nami questioned as she looked up at the woman in confusion.

"Why are you doing this?" Vivi cautiously asked.

"I don't believe it, there has to be a catch to all of this" I said with the shake of my head

"I have to go with "him," this is most likely a trap" Zoro agreed as he crossed his arms. Miss All Sunday only seemed to mumble something underneath her breath, the amusement on her face even growing more prominent with each passing minute as she waited for someone else to speak. Vivi seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she stared down at the Eternal Pose, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was debating on whether or not to accept this alternative route given to us.

"Luffy?" I questioned when he suddenly walked past me, his eyes ablaze with ferocious anger.

"Who the hell cares?!" he sneered as he snatched the Eternal Pose right the princess' hand and held it as tightly as he could until it broke—this glass shattering into a million pieces which earned him a few surprised squeals from Nami and Vivi, even I couldn't help but flinch at the sound of the glass breaking and the sight of how calm he was as he destroyed the compass.

"Idiot!" Nami snapped, harshly striking him and sending him back as she stood over him with an infuriated look. "She told us the best way to go! What if she really was trying to help us?! Then what?!" she shouted while pointing back at Miss All Sunday who just silently watched this all happen.

"You don't decide where this ship goes" Luffy seriously said as he looked away from Nami and towards the strange woman.

"How unfortunate" Miss All Sunday hummed as she stood up and walked over to the side of the ship. "Though I don't hate those with high spirits, hopefully, we'll meet again" she remarked as she looked back towards the rubber man just as he sat up.

"No!" was the only response Luffy gave as he crossed his arms which in return only caused her to smile before she jumped off the ship and disappeared out of sight.

"I-Is the island she m-mentioned really that bad?" Usopp stuttered out as his legs began to shake.

"I don't know" Vivi admitted. "By the name of it, Little Garden, it doesn't sound bad" she shrugged, clearly unsure of herself.

"Little Garden, huh?" I questioned.

"Do you know about it?" Nami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...no" I shook my head, averting my gaze elsewhere as I cleared my throat. "The name just sounds strange is all" I really didn't know much about the island itself, just that many books seemed to deem it as dangerous. But it couldn't really be that bad of an island…could it? It didn't really take that long until we found ourselves sailing down a riverbank that led straight through the island of Little Garden nor was it that long before the peaceful silence of the air around us was soon interrupted by the loud ferocious growl of a saber-tooth tiger that now steadily followed alongside the ship by land.

"Maybe we shouldn't stop" Usopp nervously suggested as he and Nami started to shake in fear at the sounds of the tiger's growls.

"You think so?" I hummed, casually leaning against the railing and watching the tiger's slow movements as if it looked about ready to pounce right towards us. "Maybe he just wants a friend" I joked.

"That's not funny!" Usopp and Nami snapped which caused me to snicker...though the humor quickly died out the second the tiger came to a sudden halt and kneeled over—a pool of blood already beginning to form underneath it.

"What?!" Nami gasped as confusion swept over the ship and we all now nervously looked at one another. It took quite a while before we decided to finally dock, coming to the conclusion that it'd probably be safer to just wait on the ship for the Log Pose to set. Well at least at the beginning we had all agreed on that. "And where do you think you're going?" the navigator questioned the moment Luffy hopped off the ship and right onto land.

"Exploring" was the response she had gotten as he turned his back to her and was about to walk off.

"Wait, Luffy!" he came to a stop and look back when he heard Vivi call out his name, now curiously watching as she jumped over the ship's railing to join him on the ground. "Let me come with you" she said.

"Hold on, Vivi, I'll prepare you a lunch box and Carue something to drink" Sanji suddenly called out to her.

"Oh! Sanji, make me one as well!" Luffy shouted, instantly perking up at the thought of food as he excitedly waved his arms around in an attempt to catch the blonde's attention.

"Yeah, sure, whatever" the cook grumbled as he disappeared back into the kitchen. It didn't really take him all that long to prepare what he said he would and without another moment to waste, the three were off, leaving the rest of us behind.

"A walk sure does sound nice right about now" I mumbled to myself just as an argument seemed to break out between Sanji and Zoro. It was a common trait between the two I found, then again, Zoro always did have a bit of a temper so I wasn't really all that surprised that he'd go picking a fight with someone like Sanji. As for Sanji though, I have yet to figure what it was that made him agitated whenever he practically had to talk or interact with another man.

"What was that, Skylar?" Nami asked as she turned her attention towards me, seemingly deciding to ignore the two that were still arguing. Before I could respond though, our attention was quickly drawn right back towards the blond and moss haired man as they both suddenly hopped off the ship and started to storm off in separate directions.

"Hey, Sanji! Zoro! Where are you both going?!" Usopp called out to the two, not really receiving an answer at all as they both simply disappeared into the thick jungle that seemed to cover this island.

"Just leave them be" I said, waving my hand in a dismissive manner before jumping off the ship as well. "I hate to leave you two alone, but I think a walk sounds like a pretty good idea" I grinned, stretching my arms upwards while giving a pleasant moan at the tingling feeling of my muscles stretching out.

"Then why didn't you just go exploring with Luffy and Vivi earlier?" Nami curiously questioned.

"Wasn't really in the mood for a walk earlier, and now I am, so have fun watching the ship you two" I simply responded with a lazy wave as I turned away from the two and left.

-Later-

I grounded my teeth as I held my two swords out in front of me, my body harshly sliding back as the bottoms of my shoes tore through the dirt in a desperate attempt to stop myself.

"So much for a peaceful walk..." I grumbled as I finally dug one of my swords into the ground which caused me to come to a screeching halt.

"Is that all you got?" Mr. Five asked, his lips drawn back into a grin as he cracked his knuckles—of all the people I had to run into on my walk, it had to be one of the enemies and not one of the others.

"Hey! You just caught me off guard that's all, don't go getting cocky with me now!" I snarled as I straightened my posture and got into my usual fighting stance.

"Tch! Yeah, whatever you say" he scoffed and I was sure that he must have rolled his eyes behind those sunglasses of his as he seemed to wave off what I had said. Puffing out my cheeks in frustration, I narrowed my eyes before sucking in a deep breath of air and releasing it all in one heavy sigh.

"Focus..." I muttered to myself. "One mistake might cost you your life if you're not careful" I softly reminded myself.

"What was that?" Mr. Five asked, cupping one of his ears with his hand as he turned his head to the side and leaned forward. I ignored him as I slowed down my breathing and silently watched his every move, being mindful to look for any openings that I could use to my advantage. "What? Not going to respond?" he mocked, now straightening his posture which left a perfectly good opening for an attack. "Eh?" he tilted his head the minute I shot forward, quickly rushing towards him and it wasn't long until I was just within an arms reach of him.

But before I could go through with my attack, I almost thought to drawback and put distance between us once more when I spotted the sudden smirk that tugged at his lips as he breathed something out underneath his breath. From the corner of my eye, I saw his balled-up fist coming straight towards me much quicker now due to my sudden hesitance in getting any closer towards him. I wasn't really prepared for the loud explosion that ringed out in my ear as the right side of my face flared up with a painful warmth that could only be compared to the feeling of a raging fire. I cried out in pain as my body harshly thrown to the side—skidding across the ground as it rolled around and around before finally coming to a stop as I clutched at my now painfully ringing ear. It felt as if the eardrum had just exploded with how loudly it was ringing as I now could barely hear anything with it.

"What the hell?! Do you have dynamite strapped to your fist or something?!" I snapped as I shakily pushed myself up, giving a startled gasp the minute the front of my shirt was grabbed and I was harshly yanked up off the ground. "Oof!" I groaned the minute I received a swift punch to my gut and it wasn't long before the same action was being repeated over and over multiple times before suddenly another explosion seemed to sound out. The force from this one was enough to send me flying back and through the air. Despite the pain resorting throughout my body, I couldn't help but be amazed when I saw that my bandana was still on, only having inched up enough for a few stray strands of hair to escape out from underneath it. My amazement was short-lived though as I was snapped out of it the minute my back made harsh contact with the hard surface of a boulder.

I grunted as gravity did its part in dropping me back onto the ground, my vision was now blurred as both my ears were painfully ringing to the point that my skull began to throb and I could barely hear anything that was happening around me.

"Skylar?!" I just barely heard the muffled yell of my name, though I didn't know who it was calling for me due to both the ringing making the voice indiscernible and due to the fact that my vision was slowly fading to black. Just barely was I able to see the two blurred figures worriedly standing above me before I completely blacked out.

-Later-

I sucked in a sharp breath of air and released it all in a startled gasp the minute my eyes opened and I regained consciousness—slowly was my vision starting to come back to me along with my hearing as I was now only left with a pounding headache and the smell of a burning fire from somewhere nearby. Slowly pushing myself up, my ears suddenly twitched to the sounds of shoutings and pleas that happened to come from a very familiar voice that I was used to hearing by this point.

"Usopp?" I quietly questioned, fixing my bandana and making sure that my swords were still secured to my side before racing off towards the sound of his distressed screaming. "W-what the hell?!" I sputtered out in surprise the moment I saw the mess in front of me. "What the hell happened here while I was out?!" I shouted as my attention was quickly drawn back towards Usopp's fearful cries as he flailed around underneath Miss Valentine's Day—his face twisted up into a look of agonizing pain as if he was slowly being crushed underneath the woman's weight. "H-hey! Get off him right now!" I snapped which caught the woman's attention as she looked up towards me in confusion as if she didn't know where I had suddenly come from before quickly turning to look back at the raging fire behind her when we both suddenly heard shouting.

It was at that moment that two familiar women suddenly jumped out of the flames, the soles of their shoes smashing straight into the blonde's face and sending her flying straight towards me. When I knew she was close enough, I kicked the side of her face and sent her flying off to the side where she went tumbling across the ground. A painful groan left her lips the minute she came to a stop as she now laid there in a daze before completely blacking out.

"Skylar! What happened to you?!" Nami worriedly asked the minute she took note of my disheveled appearance as she and Vivi came rushing over towards me.

"Luffy and I saw you just fly right by us and strike that boulder earlier, are you alright?!" Vivi asked in concern.

"Oh" I was a bit confused by their immense worry before I finally looked down at my shirt which was ripped and frayed in certain areas—exposing flesh that was bruised and now turning a pinkish colored as if it had been singed by a strong flame. "Ow!" I whined as I finally registered the aches and pains that shot through my body, especially the immense amount of pain that was coming from my spine due to where it had struck that boulder head-on.

"You're just now feeling the pain?!" Nami snapped as I nodded my head and continued to quietly whine. "Be a man and suck it up then!" she huffed.

"Do I have to?" I whined, my lips slightly twitching upwards as I listened to the way she sputtered over her words.

"What do you mean "do you have to?" Of course, you do! You're a "man," aren't you?!" she frowned as I chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess I am" I joked before my eyes lit up as I finally took a closer look at her appearance. "Hey, Nami, what happened to—" something suddenly struck my back as another painfully loud explosion sounded out, interrupting me. Immediately did the aches and pains in my body start to increase now as my ears ringed once more and my headache seemed to just get worse.

"Shit! Skylar? Skylar?!" I could barely hear Nami's muffled voice as my body tilted forward and fell against her which forced her to hook her arms underneath my own as she tried to keep me upright. ' _Not again_ ' I weakly groaned as my eyes slowly slipped shut, the pain too much for me to stay awake.

-Later-

I immediately began to shift around the second I started to gain consciousness, quickly becoming aware that I was underneath something warm as my eyes fluttered open while my surroundings slowly started to become clearer until I could make out the wooden ceiling of the ship.

"This is bad" I heard Vivi mumble as I slowly sat up and looked around, just barely able to lean back against my arms as they began to tremble due to the slightest amount of pressure I was now putting on them. It seems everything else decided to start aching at that moment as well as my skull now started to be hammered in by a headache. "Skylar's badly injured and Nami's fever seems to have worsened, we need to find a doctor soon" I turned my head to the side, quick to spot Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi all standing near Nami's bed.

"Hey, what happened? Is Nami alright?" I croaked out, my voice sounding rough as I shakily moved to get up, now concerned for the ginger haired woman that was laid up in her bed—heavily panting as her face was flushed and skin seemed to be coated in a thin sheen of sweat.

"H-hey, you shouldn't move!" Usopp sputtered out when he saw me, quick to motion with his hands for me to lay back down. "You're badly injured and you shouldn't strain your body like that after just waking up" he scolded.


	5. Chapter Five

"I'm fine, it's just a few aches here and there..." I mumbled as I tried to wave off his concern. "They'll go away soon" I reassured them all while attempting to stand up only to stumble back as the world around me seemed to just spin. My head now felt as if it was ready to just split wide open as my muscles screamed in protest at my sudden movements. I was quick to balance myself, shaking my head in an attempt to clear my mind and rid myself of this agonizing headache as I tried to take a shaky step forward, only to come to a stop when I suddenly felt a pair of hands rest on top my shoulders. Pressing down hard enough until I was forced to kneel back down onto the ground—back down onto the makeshift bed they had made themselves, probably.

"Skylar, you need to rest, that's a direct order" Luffy demanded as he stared down at me with that serious look of his—a look that he only ever really wore when he wanted to be taken seriously. I only grumbled, deciding not to test him as I released a heavy sigh.

"Exactly how long was I out?" I curiously asked.

"About a few hours" Vivi answered. "We thought it'd be best to keep you in here with Nami so we could check up on the both of you, sorry if the makeshift bed isn't the best" she quickly apologized.

"No, it's fine" I reassured her. "Did...did any of you happen to…to check…" I trailed off, averting my gaze as my cheeks heated up a little at the mere thought of what they might have done while I was knocked out.

"Huh? Oh!" she was quick to realize what I was asking. "That...well...we tried, but you seemed to have been in too much pain as any time we attempted to touch any of your exposed flesh, you'd violently pull back" she explained. "Mr. Five's explosions must have singed your flesh badly, from what I saw, it almost resembled a bad sunburn" I nodded my head in understanding, sighing in relief that they hadn't continued to try and patch me up after their first few attempts.

"What about Nami? What's wrong with her?" I asked as I flickered my gaze over towards the ginger who was currently resting in bed.

"We're not sure, she seems to have caught some kind of illness" Usopp answered.

"That's why we need to find a doctor on the next island we come across, even if it will slow us down" Vivi said, giving a small glance towards the newspaper that was resting on a desk nearby. I only nodded my head while silently taking note of the sadden look in her eyes. Quietly did we all discuss a few more things with one another before everyone started to clear out of the room, everyone except Vivi who had chosen to stay close to Nami's side. Currently, I was flat on my back, gazing up at the ceiling while hissing anytime my body moved and made my flesh rub against the fabrics of my clothes.

"Vivi?" I called out, earning a hum as a response. "Do you mind taking me to the guy's room to let me change into something warmer?" I questioned, already starting to feel a bit cold. From the corner of my eye, I watched as she shivered as well as she too started to feel cold.

"Yeah, I don't mind" she said. "I think I might need a coat as well" she breathed out as she stood and crossed over to me, taking the hand I reached out and helped pulled me up into a standing position. "We'll be back soon, Nami" she said to the sleeping female, not expecting a response as she gently put my arm around her shoulders and placed her arm around my waist as we both started to make our way towards the men's room.

"You're very kind for a princess" I suddenly remarked, catching her attention as she gave me a questioning look. "Normally, people in a position of power, act as if they're above the law…" I muttered, voice trailing off as my gaze became downcast.

"Why do you say that?" I stayed silent for a minute after she had asked that before slowly shaking my head.

"Let's just say I've had my fair run-ins with people of higher status, but with how kind you are...I assume your parents raised you well" I responded, smiling as we came to a stop. "You can go get changed into warmer clothes as well if you want, I'll be fine on my own" I told her while simply waving her off. For a few minutes, she just stared at me as if she was lost in thought before giving a small smile and nodded. The second she turned her back to me, I headed down into the men's room. Looking around just to make sure it was empty, I was pleased to see that indeed it was void of any life at the moment.

Though despite it being empty now, I knew had to be quick in changing as I stripped down. Quietly did I hiss as the fabrics of my clothing brushed against my raw skin as I removed them 'til I was only left in my chest binder and underwear. I examined my body, looking at the deep bruises that were starting to yellow along with patches of red spots that had small blisters forming inside them.

"She wasn't kidding when she said they looked like a bad sunburn" I muttered, shaking my head as I scurried over to my bag and bent down to unzip it. I clenched my jaw at the sudden explosion of pain that came from my back, chest, and shoulders thanks to this little action of mine. "What the…?" I stumbled forward, pressing my hand against the wall to keep myself from falling over as my other hand flew up to grasp at my chest. Quickly did I snatch up the first warm things I spotted in my bag—a long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and a jacket—and then straightened my posture. Quickly did I bite back a groan as another explosion of pain shot through those same three areas of my body once again.

"Why are you hurting all of sudden?" I irritably muttered as I started to dress myself. ' _Perhaps it's because I'm just now focusing on the damage done_ ' I reasonably tried to tell myself, slowly nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that must be it..." I mumbled.

"Skylar, you finished in there?" I heard Vivi called down to me, not bothering at all to come barging down into the room to check. What a polite thing to do.

"Uh...yeah" I called out, shuffling across the room and climbing back up onto the deck to meet her.

"That's quite a jacket you...um...got there" she suddenly remarked, seemingly trying to hold back a laugh as I tilted my head to the side before looking down. My cheeks flaring up in embarrassment as I saw that the jacket I had grabbed was white with a floral design.

"M-my brother gave it to me as a present, s-so there's nothing wrong with it!" I embarrassingly snapped as I started to make my way back towards Nami's room.

"It's not bad, it's just, it looks more like a woman's jacket then a man's" Vivi responded as she caught up quickly and walked briskly beside me.

"So what? Clothes have genders now?" I questioned, earning a snort from the princess as her hand flew up and covered her mouth. A few minutes after we had reentered Nami's room, there was a loud noise that suddenly sounded out from out on the deck. "What's going on out there?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, I'm going to go check and see what's making all that ruckus—stay here with Nami" Vivi muttered as she backtracked out of the room, softly shutting the door behind her.

"Okay" I responded even though she was already gone. Walking over to Nami's bedside, I gently got down on my knees beside the bed and rested my chin on top of it. Taking note of just how peaceful the navigator looked as she slept despite her ragged breathing and flushed face. "It's okay, you're strong, so I know you can fight this..." I muttered with a yawn. ' _With all these aches and pains, a little nap wouldn't hurt?_ ' I thought as my eyes began to droop.

-Later-

"I see, I'm sorry to inform you, but the only doctor in this village lives way up there on the tallest mountain" I groggily blinked my eyes opened only to find that my surroundings had changed.

"I don't care, Nami and Skylar need help and I plan on getting them help" I heard Luffy huff, as I began to look around before tiredly lulling my head to the side only to find Nami bundled up in blankets and a thick coat beside me. Now that I noticed it, it has gotten a lot colder since the last time I was awake. "I'll carry Nami and you'll carry Skylar, Sanji, got that?"

"There's no need for that, I'm perfectly fine" I suddenly spoke up as I weakly pushed myself up into a sitting position. There was a slight throb in my shoulders and back and it now seemed to just hurt to breath—was the weathering causing these aches to intensify? Probably.

"Oh, you're awake" a new voice spoke up, sounding slightly taken aback that I had gained consciousness once again. Looking towards the owner of the voice, I raised an eyebrow as I looked at the large man.

"Skylar, I don't think it'd be a good idea to let you walk that long of a distance" Vivi frowned. "Maybe it would be best for you to let Sanji carry you."

"But—"

"Skylar" Luffy interrupted, not saying much else as he only stared at me for a couple of seconds. A wide smile soon tugging at his lips the moment I groaned and fell back onto the bed.

"Fine" I sighed, placing my hands on my face and dragging them down 'til my mouth was covered. "I can tell when something isn't up for debate, captain" I said, rolling off the bed to weakly stand as Sanji walked over towards me, not looking all that pleased that he had to carry me instead of Nami. Luffy nodded as he picked Nami up and fixed her into a safe position on his back so that she'd be comfortable and wouldn't fall off while I simply climbed onto the blonde's back. Wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.

"Hm?" he made a sound of confusion as his one visible eyebrow furrowed.

"What is it?" I asked, my nose scrunching up as the smell of smoke from his cigarette now assaulted my nose.

"You're very…light? I just didn't expect that, I thought you'd be a bit heavier" he responded.

"Did you just call me fat?"

"Wha—that's not what I meant, dumbass! And so what if I was?!" he snapped right as I burst out laughing with Luffy's laughter soon to follow.

"I'm just joking around with you, buddy" I teasingly said as we walked outside.

"Whatever, let's just get going..." Sanji grumbled as he blew out a puff of smoke.

"Right" Luffy nodded his head as the two started to run, and for a while, the only sounds that could be heard were the crunching sounds of their feet running through the snow. It didn't take long for a ridiculous conversation to break out between the two, I believe it was about women or something. I wasn't sure and I really didn't care enough to join in or pay attention as I chose to instead watch the passing scenery. There didn't seem to be much on this island as for miles it seemed to only be snow and woodlands. Probably with villages scattered about here and there.

Though something did catch my attention. It was a mere blur as it was moving far too fast at first, but it was obvious it was trying to attack us as Luffy and Sanji would suddenly duck or move their bodies in ways to avoid the thing. I was almost about ready to just drift back off into my own little world until we suddenly came to screeching halt as Sanji jumped away, dodging an attack from something I couldn't properly see.

"Luffy, don't fight!" the blond ordered.

"What? Why?"

"Nami's sick, remember?" he seemed to scold the captain for forgetting that small detail. "And if she moves around a lot she might die" he explained before almost losing his balance as the ground started to violently shake.

"What's going on?" I asked, tightening my grip around him as everything violently shook. "An earthquake?" I questioned.

"That's not it" Sanji responded, pointing his finger up to the top of a hill were a bunch of large, bear-like rabbits were hastily jumping up and down.

"What are those? Rabbits?" I questioned.

"I believe those are the Laphans Dalton had spoken about to us earlier" Sanji stated, his visible eye narrowing as he watched them. "What are they—shit!" he suddenly cried out as his visible eye widened and he became aware of what the rabbits were attempting to do. "Luffy, we got to run!" he shouted.

"Why?" the rubber man questioned.

"Because they're about to cause an avalanche, this isn't good!"

"Wait, what?! You can't be serious!" I squealed as I tightened my grip on him a bit more.

"Hey! Loosen your grip a bit, will you?!" he snapped, gagging at the way my arms seemed to just uncomfortably press up against his Adam's apple. "You're choking me here!" he growled.

"What isn't good?" Luffy suddenly piped up as he tilted his head.

"We have to start running right now, idiot!" Sanji responded, turning his attention back towards the rubber man before finally, he took off running.

"More running?" Luffy whined as he followed close behind.

"We have to run now!" Sanji stressed.

"Run where?" I asked, squinting my eyes as I stared ahead while clinging to him—finding nothing but trees and snow.

"Anywhere but here!" he exclaimed, picking up his pace just as a verbal fight soon broke out between him and Luffy.

"Now isn't the time for fighting!" I snapped as they yelled at one another, the ground beneath us rumbling once again and, with a quick look back, I was allowed only a small glimpse of the rushing waves of snow that came barreling down towards us. It wasn't long before it finally caught up and sent us all flying. I was soon thrown from Sanji's back, frantically waving my arms around in a desperate attempt to grab a hold of anything mounted down so that I wouldn't be dragged off or swallowed up by the snow.

"Sanji! Skylar!" I heard Luffy shout before suddenly I felt one of his arms wrap around my waist just as I was about to crash into the wave of snow, the jerk of his arm quick to drag me across the surface of the snow and causing my head to make harsh contact with a rock in the process that was barely sticking out from underneath it. My vision blurred and it felt like stars were dancing around my head as Luffy sat me down in between Nami and Sanji on the tree they all were clinging onto. Soon, my head limply fell forward as I finally blacked out.

-Later-

My eyes slowly opened just a little as the sounds of roaring winds and pained grunts reached my ears. From my position, it looked almost as if I was suspended in midair and was just getting higher and higher—further and further away from the ground. But...that couldn't be possible, could it? Perhaps I was still dreaming...yeah, that must be it. I must still be asleep.

With that, I closed my eyes once more and fell straight back asleep.

-Later-

The next time I awoke, it was due to the sound of loud, muffled crashes. Sounds which caused my body to jolt upright as I groggily looked around, taking notice of how my surroundings have once again changed on me. I looked to be in a decently sized room—a room that was bare save for a desk that held a few medical supplies, a body length mirror, and a small bookshelf. Tiredly did I decide to flop back onto the bed and drape an arm over my eyes as I heaved a sigh.

"Now, where am I?" I groaned, moving my arm down to where it now covered my mouth as I noticed something strange. My hands were quick to move to touch my forehead as the tips of my fingers brushed against the rough texture of bandages. Slowly, I then dragged my hands downwards, past my face and towards my torso. Running them up and down my sides, feeling even more bandages wrapped all the way across my chest and upper arms. Pushing myself up once more, I got up and walked over towards the body length mirror—almost losing my balance in the process.

Standing in front of the mirror now, I found that indeed my chest all the way to my upper arms and around my forehead were wrapped tightly in bandages. My hair was down as well as my bandana had apparently been removed and tied around my wrist. It seems I was left in only my shoes and jeans, my other articles of clothing nowhere to be seen in the room even after doing another quick scan of it.

"Where's my chest binder? No, more importantly, where's my shirt?"

-Everybody's P.O.V-

Nami silently stared at the old woman in front of her, having only just woken up about a few moments ago after hearing a loud commotion from one of the other room. The old woman before her had simply claimed to be a doctor before going straight into giving her a quick rundown of what exactly was wrong with her and why she was feeling so sick.

"Oh, and if you're wondering about your friends, they're just fine" the woman said right as Nami opened her mouth to speak. "The two boys are resting perfectly fine in the next room over and the young girl is sleeping as well over in the room across from yours."

"Young girl?" Nami owlishly blinked. "If I'm correct, the last thing I recall is that it was just Luffy, Sanji, Skylar, and me making our way up here—there wasn't any young girl with us" she said, raising a questioning eyebrow the second she heard the woman snickered. Silently did she watch as the old woman walk over towards a nearby chair and pick something up, simply tossing the object towards the navigator as soon as she did. Nami barely caught whatever it was, nearly dropping it before tightly clutching it in her grasps as she curiously stared at what it was the old woman had tossed to her. "A chest binder?" she frowned.

"That's what I found your young friend wearing when I was stripping her to dress her bruises and blisters" the old woman said. "From what I can tell you, her bones will most likely be aching for a while—I mean they were only cracked just enough not to cause any full-on major damage, which is good on her part considering how small she is. The cold air here also won't do her much good though and because of the large amount of sleeping she's been doing these past few days, her muscles will be a bit weaker than normal, so she'll have to do a few exercises for a while" she started as she moved about the room. "The blisters she's also acquired will eventually go away and the damaged skin will start to peel—"

"Ew" Nami interrupted as she scrunched up her nose in disgust at the thought.

"—which is normal as the burn marks did resemble just your typical second-degree sunburns, whatever burned her in the first place didn't seem to exert too much heat" the old woman continued. "Which in the next three days as the both of you are staying here, she'll be able to complete at least the exercising part—she should also start the peeling process on the third day with enough ointment treatment to the burn marks if she's lucky" she finished as she dug around through the medical supplies on the desk in the room.

"Look, I already told you—"

"Can it, missy, I've already told you that you aren't leaving here 'til you and the other lass start feeling better" the old woman interrupted. "I'm a doctor and it's my duty to see you both through in your healing process" she huffed just as the door to the room burst open.

-Skylar's P.O.V-

I snapped my head towards the closed door of my room, ears perking up to the sounds of screaming and loud crashes that could be heard all the way throughout the rooms closest to mine. Automatically, did I roll my shoulders to get the stiffness out of them, quickly regretting the action soon after as they started to ache badly.

"Note to self, don't do that again..." I muttered before making my way out of my room and across the hall to the one across from it. That's where it seems most of the noises were coming from. The moment I peered inside, I was greeted by quite the amusing sight. Nami was propped up in bed, dressed in such nice and warm looking pajamas—lucky her—while Sanji and Luffy seemed to be clinging tightly onto a…racoon dog? Was that a racoon dog?

No wait, I think that's a reindeer…I think, though I never saw a reindeer before that ran on two legs and wore clothing. Loudly was the blond listing off various types of food that use venison while Luffy's jaw was snapping at the reindeer's limbs—looking ready to just eat the poor animal alive. An old woman appeared to also be in the room as well as she was simply leaned back against a desk and was watching the scene in front of her with an expression that looked like a cross between amusement and irritation.

"Uh…" everything quieted down as all attention was suddenly directed towards me the moment I spoke up. "What's going on here?" I asked, scratching the back of my head.

"You're a girl!" Luffy and Sanji suddenly shouted in shock the moment they seemed to process the sight before them.


	6. Chapter Six

"Yeah" I said, nodding as I peered down at my chest before looking back up at the two men. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm a woman" I continued nodding before my lips twitched upwards as I straightened my back and gave a slight bow with some difficulties. "Here, let me reintroduce myself—I'm Skylar Strife, and it's a pleasure to meet you all" I said, mentally cursing myself for letting that dreadful last name of mine slip through my lips.

"When exactly did you plan on telling us this?" Nami asked as she crossed her arms.

"Someday" I shrugged.

"Why were you dressing up like a guy?" Luffy questioned with the tilt his head and I couldn't blame him for being confused seeing how I didn't really have any real reasons to keep up the charade as long as I did.

"Reasons."

"Do you plan on telling us these reasons?" Nami butted in, raising an eyebrow as she gave me a curious look.

"Someday, but not right now" I shrugged with a dismissive wave of my hand as if I really didn't want to bother explaining myself.

"Alright" Luffy smiled, seemingly just accepting my answer as Nami only gave a quiet huff in response.

"Oh, here" she suddenly said as if remembering something as she tossed something towards me. Catching it, I discovered that it was only my chest binder that she had given me.

"Thanks, but I don't really need it anymore now that the cat's out of the bag" I said, setting the article of clothing down on a table nearby before owlishly blinking when I suddenly felt one of my hands being taken in a gentle grip as Sanji now kneeled before me.

"I do apologize for my behavior towards you during your stay with us, mademoiselle" he apologized, now wearing that same charming smile that he always wore for Nami as his cheeks flushed the moment he looked up at me. Oh...that's right, I forgot I wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Here, cover yourself up, it isn't proper for a lady to be exposed" the old woman suddenly spoke up as something soft hit the side of my head. Pulling my hand away from Sanji's grip, I pulled the shirt and jacket off my head and saw that it was the ones I had been wearing earlier on the ship. Looking towards the old woman, I sweat dropped as I took note of the belly shirt she was wearing.

"Look who's talking..." I mumbled as I slipped the shirt on over my head and decided to just leave the jacket off for now.

"What was that, girlie?"

"Nothing" I chirped out before directing my attention toward the strange reindeer. "So—" I didn't even get the chance to utter out a single word before Luffy's stomach growled, the sound loud enough to echo throughout the room and catch everyone's attention. Slowly did both his and Sanji's attention go straight back towards the reindeer as said animal didn't waste any time in turning on his hoofs and running out of the room through another door, the two men quick to follow after him.

"Can you tell me more about the talking reindeer?" Nami suddenly asked as I crossed the room over to the bed she was laying on, taking a seat at the end near the edge.

"Talking reindeer?" I raised an eyebrow as I gave her a strange look.

"Yes, his name is Chopper—he's a reindeer with a blue nose" the old woman said.

"Yeah, but normal reindeer don't talk" Nami pointed out.

"They don't run on two legs or wear clothes either" I butted in, leaning back against my arms as my hands sunk into the mattress of the bed. "And, not trying to change the subject here, but I don't think I ever got your name, ma'am" I said.

"The name's Dr. Kureha" the old woman responded as I nodded my head.

"I'm not food!" a muffled, high pitched yell was soon heard from somewhere else within the building.

"If he's different from other reindeer..." Kureha said as she simply ignored the shout.

"If he's different?" Nami and I questioned.

"It's because he ate the Human Human Fruit" she finished.

"A Devil Fruit?" Nami asked.

"I didn't think Devil Fruits could apply to animals" I remarked.

"It gave him the ability to talk, he's also a doctor—I taught him everything I know" Kureha seemed to boast as she puffed her chest out while a look of pride settled itself onto her face.

"Hm, a talking reindeer that's also a doctor..." I mumbled, quietly echoing her words. "Sounds kind of bizarre once you say it out loud" I mused aloud as I looked upwards in thought.

"Yeah, you're telling me..." Nami muttered.

-Later-

"You should join our crew, please, old lady" Luffy begged after we had all finished a small meal.

"You really are such a smooth talker, Luffy" I sarcastically said with the roll my eyes, swirling whatever was left of my tea around in my cup as I sat there in utter boredom.

"Luffy, that's your name, right?" Kureha asked as she held her hand up. Luffy eagerly nodded his head, leaning forward with a wide smile as he waited in utter excitement for the woman's answer. "And did you just call me old lady?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what I said, old lady" I winced at the harsh kick he received from the old woman.

"If I were you, I'd be a little more careful with what I say!" she venomously snapped.

"You're not much on hearing that word, are you?" I asked, shrinking back in my seat just a little when she suddenly turned her sneer on me. "I'll take that as a yes..." I muttered, bringing my cup up to my lips and slowly started to drink what was left inside of it.

"You're a tough old hag, aren't you?" Sanji asked as I winced once again when the blond was suddenly kicked back into a wall.

"So, are you boys asking me to become a pirate?" Kureha sighed, leaning back in her seat as if she hadn't just wrecked two young men in under a minute. "Because that would be ridiculous and a waste of my precious time, also, I have no interest in having a life out at sea" she finished.

"Those are lame excuses" Luffy said as he waved them off before widely smiling. "Life out on the sea is about adventure, old woman!" he proclaimed.

"This one's a slow learner—and didn't I tell you to watch what you say?" Kureha asked, not really angry this time as she was instead amused by what the rubber man had said.

"Hm?" my attention was drawn away from Kureha and Luffy and was instead now directed towards the open door. A giggle escaping past my lips as I looked at Chopper who seemed to be acting as if he was trying to hide, but his posture was all wrong as he was only hiding half his face which allowed for his whole body to be exposed. "You're doing in wrong, you know?" I laughed. My question quick in catching Luffy and Sanji's attention as they instantly started staring at the reindeer that stared straight back at them.

All three of their jaws dropped to the floor simultaneously and it wasn't long before Chopper screamed and ran away the minute he realized that he had been spotted.

"Wait, food! Come back!" Luffy called out after the animal as he and the blond were quick to chase after him.

"Slow down!" Sanji shouted.

"Are you sure you should be letting them do that?" I asked, sitting my teacup down and tilting my head to the side.

"They're not going to hurt him" was all I got as a response from the old woman. "Now that everything's calmed down a bit, I have a few things I need to go over with you" she said, now leaning forward on the table and resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Okay" I nodded, listening closely as she started to go over some important things that I had to do during my healing process. "So basically, exercise occasionally, and just apply this ointment to the burn marks" I repeated her instructions right back to her while looking down at the ointment tube she had given me.

"That's right" she nodded.

"And I shouldn't worry when the flesh around the burn marks starts to peel because that's natural?"

"Yep."

"Alright, sounds easy enough" I nodded my head, ears now perking up at the loud commotion the three boys were making. Slowly did Dr. Kureha's face morph into a look of irritation as she suddenly shot up from her chair and raced out of the room.

"That's enough of that, idiots!" she hissed, leaving just as Chopper started to scream once again.

"Well, that certainly was something" I said, leaning forward on the table as I began to lightly mess around with the empty cup in front of me out of boredom. "How are you feeling, Nami?" I suddenly asked.

"At the current moment, I'm feeling fine" she responded.

"That's good to know" I hummed.

"Yeah, tell me about it—now if only I can convince that old woman to let us leave early..." she muttered under her breath. "What about you, how are you feeling?" she curiously asked.

"Fine, just a few aches here and there" I said with a small shrug as I now leaned back into my chair. "Even if you're feeling fine, I feel you should still get some rest—your fever was quite bad from what I could tell the few times I was awake to witness it back on the ship" I suggested as I watched her open her mouth as if she was going to argue with me, but instead she shut it and nodded her head as she snuggled back down into the covers. Not even a moment later, one of the other doors in the room suddenly burst open as Chopper rushed inside with Luffy and Sanji hot on his trail.

"In a minute, I'll be cooking you two some reindeer soup" Sanji cooed as he stopped and ran in place to look between Nami and me.

"I don't think so, I'll eat you two before that can happen!" Kureha grinned as she dropped down from somewhere, now holding two swords in her hands which caused Luffy and Sanji to scream in fear of the older woman as they started to run once again with her now chasing after them.

"She's coming! She's coming!" Luffy cried out as they all quickly left the room. Silently, I couldn't help but to look up towards the ceiling, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion as I did so.

"How did she drop down from up there when I'm sure I saw her leave the room earlier?" I questioned, growing more and more confused the longer I thought about it.

"I don't care about food, I just want some peace and quiet" Nami soon grumbled as she irritably rubbed her eyes and sat up once again so she could glare at the door.

"With those two? I doubt that'll ever be possible, well...maybe with Sanji, but not with Luffy" I said. "Hm? What's with the confused expression?" I asked when I noticed the face she was making.

"There shouldn't be any snow in a castle, right?" she suddenly asked.

"No, I wouldn't think so" I answered, confused myself before looking towards the open door as we both now noticed the small snow piles that were building up out in the hall.

"It's freezing, I should probably shut that door..." Nami mumbled with a shiver as she rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm herself before trying to stand up.

"I'll do—"

"No, you should stay in bed and you should stay seated, I'll close it" Chopper interrupted as he reentered the room.


	7. Chapter Seven

"That's kind of you" I remarked, smiling as he walked over to the door and peered outside it, looking both ways before he slowly closed and leaned back against it. Giving what sounded like a relieved sigh in the process.

"I think I lost them" he breathed out before wandering over towards the desk where most of the medical supplies had been sitting while also beginning to explain the effects and process of the medicine that Dr. Kureha had apparently given Nami.

"Thank you" Nami soon piped up which earned her a sound of confusion from the reindeer. "You're the one who has been taking care of me, aren't you?" she asked before the two us were suddenly taken aback when the reindeer started screaming before that changed into what sounded like nervous laughter only to then go right back to screaming. "He's not good at hiding his emotions, is he?" Nami sweat dropped.

"It appears not" I giggled. "But, Chopper—that's your name, correct?" I asked as he went silent again and quickly turned his attention towards me.

"Y-yeah?" he stuttered.

"I must thank you as well for taking good care of my friend right here, that was mighty kind of you" I smiled as he once again went through an array of emotions. Seems he really didn't know how to react to compliments. Once he had calmed down again, his eyes began to quickly dart back and forth between Nami and me as he hesitantly scooted closer towards the navigator and peered up at her from his spot by the bed. Using one of his hoofs to gently poke at her as he started to ask questions.

"Is it true that you guys are pirates?"

"Yep" Nami nodded her head.

"Really, true pirates?" he pressed.

"Indeed, we are" I responded, resting my elbow on the table and propping my head up with the palm of my hand.

"With a black skull flag?" he curiously asked.

"Yeah, it's on our ship" Nami responded this time, a gentle smile crossing her lips. "So, you're really interested in pirates, aren't you?" she asked.

"No! No, I'm not, you idiot!" Chopper frantically screamed as he quickly backed away from her and into a nearby bookcase—the force of his back hitting it causing it to rattle as a few books fell off their shelves and onto the floor. "Shut up!" he snapped.

"Alright, alright, I get it" Nami said as she brought her hands up in surrender. "Calm down."

"There's no need to go and get all worked up over a simple question" I said.

"Well, I also have one more question I need to ask, would you like to come with us?" Nami suddenly asked. "It would really help us out to have a doctor on the ship, then we wouldn't have to wait here for three more days. Come on, I'm sure you would have fun out on the sea" she explained with the tilt of her head as she patiently waited for an answer.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, and we technically do need a doctor" I agreed with her.

"No, you're crazy! I don't belong on a ship full of humans!" Chopper screamed, catching the both of us off guard. "I mean, look at me" he said, his voice now lowered as he looked down. "I'm a reindeer that can walk and talk and walk around on two legs—and...animals aren't supposed to do that stuff..." he sadly muttered..

"I know, but if you're trying to scare us off, it isn't working" Nami said.

"In fact, all that stuff just makes you even more unique" I pointed out. "There's nothing wrong with being different" I softly smiled.

"But, I have a blue nose..." he quietly responded.

"What does—"

"There you are meat!" I was interrupted by Luffy and Sanji barging into the room as they started to chase Chopper once again. "Come back!" they both cried out as the reindeer scampered right out of the room with the two of them hot on his trail.

"Those two sure can run..." Kureha panted out as she entered the room and plopped down into an empty seat, quick to lean back into it. "So, you want to know Chopper's story?" she suddenly asked, looking between Nami and I as we both nodded our heads. "Well then, here's the story of the reindeer with the blue nose" she said, diving straight into telling the story of Chopper's past.

"That isn't right!" I shouted, tears pricking the corner of my eyes as soon as she finished. "What gives them the right to just turn him away because he's different?" I sneered.

"Skylar?" Nami quietly questioned as I roughly wiped at my eyes.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" I repeated even though it was clear that I was still angry. "But that just isn't right!" I huffed as I crossed my arms.

"Too soft-hearted I see, first I've seen such a trait in a pirate" Kureha remarked.

"Rare, but I doubt it's unheard of..." I muttered right back.

-Later-

Wandering down the halls of the castle, I lightly dragged the tips of my fingers across the wall while tracing the cracks and dips in the stone.

"Skylar!" I flinched the moment I heard Luffy call out my name before groaning as I was almost knocked off balance when suddenly he slammed into my back. "Have you seen that cool monster anywhere around here?" he asked.

"Cool monster? Are you perhaps talking about Chopper?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow as I watched him eagerly nod his head. "Sorry, I haven't seen him since the last time you and Sanji chased him off" I shook my head as I continued walking down the hall with Luffy now walking right beside me.

"Aw!" he whined before hitting a closed fist over his other hand as if he had suddenly gotten an idea. I watched in amusement as he started opening every door in search of the reindeer. "Whoa, amazing!" he suddenly exclaimed as he barged into one room, scaring poor Chopper who almost ended up dropping everything in his hands—but, luckily, he had caught them all before they could crash onto the ground. "You are so cool, monster, but what if I do this?" the rubber man asked as he started to tickle the reindeer's sides.

"What are you doing?!" Chopper snapped as he tried his best to hold back his laughter while his body began to violently shake. Luffy seemed to be amused by this as he only burst out laughing while the animal tried to still his body and keep a tight hold on the glass items in his hands.

"Cute..." I couldn't help but breath out, covering my mouth in an attempt to hide the smile on my lips as I held back a giggle.

"That's funny!" Luffy laughed, now sitting on the stool that Chopper had hopped off of in an attempt to escape from the captain's assault.

"Shut up!" Chopper snapped. "Get out of here!" he angrily demanded.

"Come on, let's me and you be friends" Luffy suddenly suggested. "Please, I really, really like you" he pleaded as he leaned forward with a wide, goofy smile.

"Y-you like me?" Chopper stuttered.

"You'd make a good pirate" Luffy stated.

"I second that statement" I said, crossing my arms as I leaned against the door frame and watched the two in amusement.

"Did you get something caught in your head while you were out there? I don't want to be a pirate" Chopper bluntly answered as he took a step back. "I... I don't want to be your friend..." he hesitantly added, not really sounding so sure of himself.

"You got to be my friend; my crew would love you!" Luffy argued, now standing up and taking a step towards the reindeer. "Hey, wait!" he shouted when Chopper suddenly took off running right out of the room which caused me to step out of the way as he shot right past me with Luffy quick to follow. Both of them now leaving me behind to watch as they ran further down the hall before disappearing completely out of sight as they went around a corner. It wasn't long before my ears perked up to the sound of a loud crash which came from Nami's room—curiously, did I wander back that way before stopping at the open doorway and peered down at Sanji who was knocked flat out on the floor.

"Let me guess, you called her "old," didn't you?" I asked as I placed my hands on my hips and leaned over to stare straight down at him.

"My Skylar, you're just as beautiful as Nami at this angle!" he praised as he opened his one visible eye and now stared up at me. I watched as that eye turned into the shape of a heart as he clasped his hands together and began to excitedly wiggle around on the floor.

"Thank you for the compliment" I said, chuckling as I straightened my posture and stepped over him to cross into the room and take a seat at the end of Nami's bed.

"Be quiet you two!" Kureha suddenly snapped as Luffy chased Chopper around, loudly making statements of wanting to be the reindeer's friend before they both finally ended up running out of the room altogether. "Friend? If only he knew what Chopper's been through" she sighed as she looked down before starting to tell us another story. One about a man named Dr. Hiruluk, who also seemed to have been Chopper's first-ever friend.

"It's sad that something like that could happen to two innocent souls..." I softly breathed out as she finished telling her story.

"So, Chopper's been studying medicine for the past six years then?" Nami quietly asked.

"Yeah, I taught him everything I know" Kureha nodded. "He was a good student" she smiled.

"Doctorine! Doctorine!" Chopper cried out as he suddenly came barging into the room, panting once he came to a halt. His appearance was different in the sense that he now looked like an actual reindeer. "Doctorine, there's trouble—Wapol's back!" he cried out, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Sanji's body tense up.

"Is he?" Kureha questioned, smiling as she stood up and walked out of the room with Chopper quick to follow after her.

"You think we should follow after them?" I asked.

"No, we shouldn't move—especially you two" Sanji said. "Nami you're still sick and Skylar, you should be resting up and not getting involved in any fights" he pointed out before leaving the room himself.

"What? Does that not apply to you as well?" I called out as I stood up and grabbed my jacket off one of the chairs that I had draped it over earlier.

"Where are you going?" Nami asked as I slipped the white floral printed jacket on.

"Out there to watch the fight that's sure to break out, duh" I replied.

"But Sanji told the both of us to stay put" she pointed out.

"Not really, he just told me that I should be resting and not getting involved in any fight—he never said I couldn't rest and watch a fight" I grinned. "You're sick, so it's a given that you can't go out in the cold, but I'm as healthy as a horse saved for a few aches here and there" I winked as she crossed her arms and frowned. I simply just stuck my tongue out at her as she returned the gesture before finally, I left the room. Zipping up my jacket as I made my way through the castle and out the opened front doors.

"What, you guys again?" my ears twitched as I heard Sanji further up ahead. Walking up beside him and Kureha, I raised an eyebrow as he irritably stuffed his hands in his coat pockets as if he was agitated. Curiously looking forward, my eyebrow raised even further at the strange appearances of the men that were in front of Luffy.

"Do you know them?" I asked Sanji, turning my head towards him as he jumped upon suddenly hearing my voice from right beside him.

"What are you doing out here?" he frowned. "Didn't I tell you to stay inside along with Nami?" he asked.

"You told me to rest and not get into any fights—you never said I couldn't watch a fight, now are you going to answer my question or not?" I asked.

"Oh, well I don't know them personally" he answered as his frown lightened up a little upon hearing my childish reasoning for not listening to him. "I just remember them from when they had attacked our ship back then" he shrugged.

"They attacked the ship?" I inquired.

"That's right, you wouldn't know that seeing how you were asleep in Nami's room around the time that it happened" he explained.

"That's true" I nodded in agreement as I buried my hands into the pockets of my jacket.


	8. Chapter Eight

"Last time I ran into you; I couldn't fight because I had to protect my friends" Luffy grinned. "But now, oh, you guys are going to get it" he laughed.

"Are you an idiot or do you not know who you just attacked?" a man with dark skin and an afro frowned. "This isn't just some regular commoner—this is Wapol, the king of Drum Island!" he claimed.

"That's right, brat, show some respect!" a second man snarled, his appearance much larger than the first man's. It didn't take much for them both to then get started in going on and on about their king, praising him and every little thing he's done.

"Who cares? He ticked me off again" Luffy huffed before childishly grabbing the ends of his cheeks and stretching them as far out while sticking his tongue out in the process.

"That's disturbing to look at, not going to lie" I remarked, shivering at the immense pain someone else would have felt if they were to try and mimic the same action he was doing. Truly, there was something off about watching the human body do things it was clearly not meant to do.

"So, I take it you ran into Wapol before, young man?" Kureha inquired as she placed one hand on her hip.

"Yeah, he's that annoying big mouth pirate we ran into!" Luffy angrily huffed.

"What did he do?" she curiously asked.

"He ate part of my ship!" he exclaimed as he now angrily stomped his feet around in the snow, a glare on his face as he talked to the old woman. "And then he attacked me and my friends—and this guy has it coming and I'm going to give it to him!" he loudly proclaimed.

"Okay, but aren't you cold in that outfit?" Sanji suddenly asked.

"Yeah, where's your coat?" I asked with the tilt of my head.

"Huh?" he questioned.

"You know cold?"

"You know the thing that keeps you warm during this type of weather?"

"Hey, wait, did he just say king?" the captain asked in sudden realization. "But I thought he was a pirate..." he mumbled.

"Took you long enough!" Sanji snapped.

"That's honestly the first thing that came to his mind from those two questions?" I sweat dropped.

"Ha! So, you're disrespectful and have wax in your ears" the man with the afro smirked as his partner soon piped up and started to drone on about some sort of explanation and reasoning for his king's actions. I didn't really care that much to listen.

"Wow, it's f-freezing out h-here" Luffy shuddered as he now rubbed at his exposed arms as if just finally becoming aware of the cold air around us.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Sanji irritably asked.

"A bit dense there, aren't we?" I chuckled.

"Yeah, it's fifty below zero" Chopper frowned.

"I think they're ignoring us..." I heard the second guy bitterly mumble.

"You're awake, sir!" the man with the afro suddenly gasped as a very heavy man stood up and growled in irritation.

"Is that Wapol?" I whispered as I leaned over towards Sanji.

"Yeah, that's the guy" he nodded.

"Straw Hat!" Wapol viciously snapped. "You got some nerve, but now I'm going to chomp you into pieces!" he growled before growing confused as he noticed that the rubber man was nowhere to be seen.

"Um...you're going to have to wait a minute" Sanji said. "He went inside to get a coat."

"Good for him, he's got his priorities straight" I laughed.

"Idiots! Is this a joke?!" Wapol angrily snapped.

"Tell me, your friend, he can stretch himself? How?" Chopper quietly asked.

"Oh, that? It's because he's a rubber man" Sanji answered.

"What the heck is that?" the reindeer frowned

"It's a monster" the blond laughed as he gave the reindeer a wide smile. I couldn't help but giggle at how cute the interaction between the two was.

"Well, well, it looks like we're up against an old hag, a reindeer, and a few of the Straw Hats—not much of a challenge, this should be easy enough, and once we defeat them, no one will be full hearty enough to defy me" Wapol cockily grinned as he crossed his arms.

"Of course, my king, today will be the day you restore Drum Kingdom to its formal glory" the second man praised.

"I'll start with you Doctor Kureha, you've committed a great offense by moving into my castle and hanging up that horrid flag" Wapol suddenly said, now turning his attention towards the old woman as he pointed upwards. Looking to where he was pointing, I was quick to spot the flag that was flapping around at the top of the castle—it was pure black with a skull and crossbones on it along with a few cheery blossom petals painted right behind the skull.

"It's not yours, not anymore, it's Hiruluk's grave" Kureha grinned. "I have no use for this castle because of the wrongs you did, but I thought we could do some rights and the reindeer insisted that we hang the flag up" she explained while Chopper now glared at the three men which caused the king to burst out into a fit of laughter.

"I almost forgot about that old fool!" he laughed, but all too soon did that laughter die down as he now began to shout out orders towards his two lackeys—demanding that the flag be removed and burned.

"I'll never let you touch that flag or even get inside this castle!" Chopper snarled, his body changing from how it looked now into a more bigger, human-shaped form.

"Look, sir, he's that…" the second man mumbled in shock.

"You're right, it is him" the man with the afro agreed. "He's that Doctor's monster—the one Dalton stopped."

"That flag there represents his faith, and I won't let you take it down! Not now, not ever!" Chopper sneered as he glared the three men down with pure hatred.

"Hahaha! We're going to take that flag down, then you guys down, and then we're going to enter the castle!" Wapol mockingly laughed. "Show them no mercy, boys!" he snarled.

"Old lady, are you going to fight too?" Sanji curiously asked.

"Old lady?" I winced as Sanji was harshly hit on top of the head. "If they're more than you can handle then I'll step in" the woman said while crossing her arms.

"Appreciate that" the blond grumbled as he painfully rubbed the top of his head. "Skylar."

"Yeah?" I perked as soon as I heard my name leave his lips.

"Sit this one out, please" he said as his voice was soft and polite, speaking carefully as if wanting to make sure that I truly understood what he was asking of me.

"You can't tell me what to do" I sternly frowned as I crossed my arms, watching as his shoulders drooped for a minute. "But...since you asked so nicely, I'll sit this one out—but don't expect me not to jump in if something goes wrong" I gently smiled which caused him to perk up a little.

"Got it" he firmly nodded before rushing towards the group of men, and not even a moment later did Luffy soon shoot right on past me.

"Wait, is he wearing Nami's coat?" I questioned, holding back a laugh as I watched the rubber man painfully smash into Wapol and sent the heavy man flying right off of his feet.

"Not too shabby" Sanji grinned.

"That was awesome, Luffy!" I cheered with the clap of my hands.

"Thanks, you two—you guys are amazing" Chopper praised with a relieved smile.

"Hey, wait, isn't that Nami's coat you're wearing?!" Sanji frowned as he pointed at the brightly colored coat that the captain wore.

"Looking good there, Luffy" I whistled, laughing as the raven-haired man gave me a loud "thank you" in return before turning his attention back towards Wapol.

"Whoa...Big Mouth's still alive, but his hippo went flying to the moon" he said in amazement as he ignored Sanji's question from earlier.

"What? What hippo?" I raised an eyebrow, not really remembering seeing a hippo at all this entire time. Perhaps I hadn't been paying close enough attention like Luffy had been or maybe its fur had been the same color as the snow that coated this island and my eyes had simply disregarded it to instead focus on the bright colors of everyone else's clothing.

"Hey! Take that off right now!" Sanji snapped as he grabbed at the coat the captain wore and yanked on it—trying his absolute hardest to remove it from Luffy's body.

"Wapol, sir! Are you alright?!" the man with the afro worriedly asked.

"We underestimated them, they're too strong!" the second man harshly glared.

"Then it's time to bring out the big guns—and my bigger appetite!" Wapol suddenly shouted. "I'll show them the true power of the Munch Munch Fruit, that's right, I'll show them the Munch Munch Factory!" he huffed as he sat right up.

"Whoa! He sat up!" Luffy exclaimed in slight awe as if amazed that someone of the king's size could sit up so easily after harshly being knocked down.

"Yeah, but how?" Sanji asked. "You hit him pretty hard" he pointed out.

"Maybe that armor he's wearing is made from really good metals" I suggested.

"That or he's just tough" Luffy said, sounding quite unsure of himself as he furrowed his brows in confusion. Quickly did we clamp our mouths shut as we were all soon struck with awe the moment the second man started to suddenly read off a list of things that the king had recently eaten after being ordered to. "Whoa, and I thought I ate a lot" the captain sweat dropped.

"You do, but this dude's bigger" Sanji pointed out.

"I'm not sure that's it" I piped up with the tilt of my head.

"How so?" the blond questioned.

"I think it might be more because Luffy has people that try to limit him and stop him from eating as much as he wants while that guy can just do whatever he wants it seems seeing how he's a king" I simply explained. "But what I'm wondering is how his body can even handle eating half of these things listed—shouldn't his stomach hate him by now?" I asked.

"I can't argue with you there" he agreed with a nod.

"You see, Straw Hat, whatever I eat becomes a part of my body—that's the power of the Munch Munch Fruit!" Wapol suddenly grinned as he now wore the face of a mad man.

"What's happening?" Chopper nervously asked.


	9. Chapter Nine

"The fuck?" I breathed out, taken aback as the man's body suddenly started to change—his arms now becoming cannons while his torso morphed into the shape of a house.

"A…house?" Sanji questioned.

"Awesome!" Luffy shouted as his eyes turned into stars.

"Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to eat!" Wapol claimed as he unhinged his jaw and caused his men to cower in fear. I drew back in both horror and shock the moment he chomped down on them and started to devour them whole as if they were nothing more than food for him and not his own lackeys.

"N-no way, he's eating his own men!" Sanji sputtered out.

"I didn't expect him to resort to cannibalism because he was angry" I commented, now watching him in awe.

"That's so mean!" Luffy remarked while pointing towards Wapol, all of us now watching in a mixture of awe and horror as the king began to stumble from side to side before coming to a complete stop as steam billowed out of the chimney at the top of his house-shaped body.

"Feast your eyes on our Miraculous Union!" he loudly boasted.

"What kind of union?" Sanji questioned as the door to Wapol's stomach opened and out stepped his two men—their bodies now combined in a weird way. "Miraculous Union? More like Ridiculous Union!" the blond insulted.

"That looks like it would be uncomfortable" I winced.

"Sweet!" Luffy laughed.

"It's ridiculous and weird!" Sanji and I snapped right back at our rubber captain who seemed to only laugh more.

"Don't underestimate them" Kureha butted in before giving a short explanation of the two combined men's strength. Making it clear that they weren't meant to be taken lightly while in this strange form.

"The first law of the constitution—those who define me are to be put to death, that's the law!" Wapol sneered. "You refuse my wishes and broke that law, and now you all will be punished for your crimes. But, first I'm going to deal with that Doctor's flag for soiling my castle, it's time I took that thing down!" he snarled as he raised one of his cannon arms and shot a cannonball straight towards the flag. His aim seemingly perfect as the cannonball did indeed hit its mark and caused the flag to fall from its place on top of the castle. Such an action only caused Chopper to explode with unyielding frustration and hatred.

"How dare you attack Doctor's flag, you freak!" the reindeer angrily screamed as he recklessly rushed forward. Transforming back into his normal self to dodge the two combined men that tried to stop him before quickly turning big once he was completely past them. "Doctor tried to…he tried to save everyone, even you!" he cried out as he roughly grabbed hold of the king's collar. His body now violently shaking while tears were slowly gathering up near the corner of his eyes as he stared down at the king. Said man didn't even seem disheartened or scared, instead he looked disgusted by the fact that the animal was touching him.

Chopper drew his fist back, looking as if he was ready to just punch the man before suddenly he stopped. His facial expression morphing into a look of realization as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"I won't hurt you if you leave this country forever" he quietly whispered as he slowly lowered his fist.

"Chopper, what are you doing?" Kureha tensed up. "Even if he agrees to that—you can't trust what he says!" she yelled.

"But, Doctor said—" as the reindeer looked back towards the old woman, he was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a cannon being shot before his body was suddenly thrown back by the force of a cannonball harshly hitting his stomach.

"Chopper!" Kureha screamed.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" I angrily snapped as I clenched my fists and seethed at the man. "He was sparing you!" I sneered, looking towards the reindeer as he slowly pushed himself up and wiped at his mouth before his attention seemed to suddenly be drawn elsewhere. Following it, I now noticed that Luffy had made his way up to one of the rooftops of the castle—now standing there with a stern look while in his hands he was tightly clutching the flag that had been knocked down earlier. It wasn't really in good condition as it appeared to have a few tears here and there.

"Hey! Look out!" Chopper shouted the moment a cannonball was suddenly shot towards the rubber man.

"Do your worse—you won't break this flag!" Luffy proclaimed right as the cannonball hit its mark.

"Luffy!" Sanji shouted

"Oh god! Is he alright?!" I worriedly asked as my breath now got caught in my throat.

"Was he hit?" Kureha questioned.

"He was blown to pieces!" Wapol mockingly laughed, though his laughter was quickly cut short the minute the smoke cleared and we all now stared in both shock and amazement when it was revealed that Luffy was still standing. Parts of the roof around him were now missing chunks from the impact, but he was still there—still clutching tightly to that flag's pole.

"I told you, you can't break it!" he proclaimed once again.

"What?! How did he survive that?!" the two combined men shouted. "It's impossible!"

"I have no idea who this pirate flag belongs to, but it doesn't matter—a pirate flag is someone's pledge to risk their life and it's not something to laugh at!" Luffy shouted. "It stands for something you jackasses will never understand in a million years!" he snarled as his grip tightened around the flag pole while the three men's jaws dropped to the ground in shock. "It won't break, ever, because the skull on it is someone's faith!" he proclaimed before looking towards Chopper. "Hey reindeer, I'm going to kick these guys' asses for disrespecting your friend's flag—you in?" he asked with a huge smile.

"Me?" Chopper shyly asked.

"You idiot! You just don't get it, do you?!" Wapol suddenly sneered. "Alright, since you feel so strongly about that flag, I'll destroy you along with it!" he screamed as he aimed his arm cannon at the raven-haired man once again.

"I don't think so, tubby" Sanji breathed out as he started to run towards the king before he came to a sudden halt as a painful popping sound now came from his back.

"Sanji!" I gasped as I watched his body start to descend downwards as he now seemed stiff and unable to properly move.

"Looks like your backbone gave out" Kureha suddenly commented. "Your condition will become worse if you keep moving, so stop—doctor's order!" she ordered as she now ran towards the blond before harshly smashing her foot down onto his back. I hissed the moment I heard the loud pops that came from his spine now because of that action of hers.

"Don't you think you were a bit rough there with him?" I quietly asked.

"Nope" she smirked with the shake of her head.

"Well, alright then, if you say so."

"Not going to argue?"

"After witnessing what you just did, I don't think I want to argue you with you on how you treat your patients" I sweat dropped.

"Smart girl" she chuckled.

"Haha! If you wish to fight amongst yourselves, then to my pleasure, please do so!" Wapol laughed. "But I at least hope you'll watch as your friend and that flag are blown to bits—Straw Hat, say your prayers!" he shouted as he turned his attention back towards Luffy.

"Stop it!" Chopper cried out as he rushed towards the man.

"That's the spirit, go get him, reindeer guy!" Luffy cheered as he mounted the flag back into the top of the roof just as Chopper pulled his fist back and rushed at the king.

"Wapol, sir, watch out!" the combined men moved in front of their king to protect him. The one whose face was in the area where the stomach was, was the one to take the hit for Wapol.

"Would you look at that! The little furball has more courage than a full-grown man!" Kureha laughed as she looked down at Sanji with a teasing smile. I couldn't help but snort at this.

"Haha! I'm sorry, but I won't let you lay a single hand on our king!" the combined men laughed as Chopper nervously took a step back. Slowly turning back into his normal self as he now stood there with wide glossy eyes and listened to the way they started to insult him which caused my mood to quickly dampen.

"Hey!" I snapped, walking towards them before Kureha held out her arm and stopped me.

"Hold on" she sternly said.

"Hold on for—" I was interrupted by the sound of Luffy screaming. His sudden shout now causing me to look back towards him and watch as he started to stretch himself back before shooting himself towards the men. He smashed right into the ground as the impact now caused snow to fly everywhere along with the combined men and Wapol—the latter falling headfirst back into a pile of snow.

"Oh no! Luffy!" Chopper worriedly cried out, though he quickly calmed down the minute he heard Luffy begin to laugh. Watching in slight awe as the man now sat there on one knee. I couldn't help but give a breathless laugh myself as I shook my head.

"Well, I should have figured if anyone was going to act, it would have been him" I muttered.

"Y-you should be flat as a pancake!" Chopper sputtered out in surprise.

"Yeah, but I'm a rubber man" Luffy responded.

"Rubber?" Chopper now stared at the man in amazement.

"Hey reindeer, can you finish off that two-headed guy for me?" Luffy suddenly requested.

"That one right over there?" Chopper asked. "Ha! That's a piece of cake!" he boasted.

"Good, while you're doing that I'll take care of this one" the rubber man said as Wapol pulled himself free out of the snow and rolled himself in front of the captain.

"Go get him, captain!" I loudly cheered before wincing as my shoulders and back suddenly started to ache. "Ow" I quietly muttered, reaching a hand up and underneath my clothes to harshly begin pressing my fingers against my flesh and rub at the muscles underneath in hopes of soothing this pain.

"Seems that the cold air is making your bones act up, that's normal, though I request that you go back inside where it's warm" Kureha said.

"What? No!" I childishly refused. "I want to see the rest of the fight!"

"It's doctor's order—do I need to use force?" she suddenly asked as I took one long look at Sanji who was still sprawled out on the ground in pain. Slowly did I now raise my hands in defense as I backed up and shook my head.

"I think I'll go and keep Nami some company" I nervously laughed as I turned on my heel and walked back towards the castle. "Hopefully they'll do fine—what am I saying? I have no doubt that they'll succeed" I mumbled as I reentered the castle and made my way back towards Nami's room.


	10. Chapter Ten

"Nami, you really shouldn't be out of bed—you don't want Kureha to lengthen our stay here, do you?" I asked, following behind the sick navigator as she started to walk through the castle. Stopping every now and again to check out the surrounding rooms as if she was looking for something.

"No, but do you think I would miss out on the chance to find the treasure kept here?" she asked me. "Besides, I'm wrapped in a blanket, aren't I? That should be enough to keep me warm from the cold" she grinned as she looked back at me while we were leaving one of the rooms. Though her grin was quick to fall as we came to a sudden halt the moment we were stopped by Wapol. ' _Shouldn't he still be outside fighting with Luffy?_ ' I pondered, raising an eyebrow as I watched Nami lean back towards me the second the king leaned towards her with a look of suspicion.

"Exactly who are you and what are you doing in my castle?" he angrily seethed, seemingly not pleased to find a complete stranger in his home. Nami gave a nervous laugh as she started to sprout out some sort of lie while we both slowly attempted to slip by him. It almost looked as if he was going to believe her before suddenly catching sight of me—his brain now placing two and two together before finally, he shouted and gave chase. Nami was obviously confused by his sudden change in attitude as we both quickly ran down the hall, taking sharp turns in an attempt to lose him before racing down the stairs towards the main entrance. My ears soon perked up to the sound of a loud grunt as I now skidded to a halt and looked back up the staircase, choking back a laugh the second I saw that the king had gotten himself stuck in the stairway passage.

"Looks like we lost him" Nami panted out when we finally reached the main entrance of the castle.

"Yeah, looks like we did" I laughed, the sight I had seen still burned into my memory. I ignored the questioning look she gave me as she raised an eyebrow but didn't seem to want to question me as she instead started walking towards the opened front doors. I calmed myself first before following, flinching when she was suddenly tackled onto the floor as a now very thinned down Wapol pinned her to the ground while he viciously snapped his jaw at her. "What the hell!? How did you become so skinny so fast!?" I shouted as Nami started to scream in fear.

Quickly did I start to hit the man's back and try to pry him off her—now wishing I had my swords with me as my shoulders decided to protest at the thought of moving a full-grown man off of someone. Though soon, from the corner of my eye, I watched as a familiar someone came rushing towards us. Just the sight of him was enough to cause me to take a step back and watch as Luffy kicked the man right off Nami, leaving me to finally help her up.

"Hey that's funny, wasn't that guy a big fatso before?" Luffy asked with the tilt of his head. I silently watched as Nami stalked up to him and instead of giving him a small "thank you" or any other kind gesture that showed she was thankful to him for saving her. She instead harshly hit him on the back of the head.

"Mind telling me why the coat I lent you is all torn up before I murder you?" she gave a strained smile as she now patted Luffy's shoulder while I raised an eyebrow. Wincing at the dark aura that just seemed to surround her. "Do you have any idea how much I paid for that thing?! I paid 28,000 beli and that was after haggling it!" she roared, causing Luffy to drawback with a terrified look.

"How much did it cost before?" I curiously asked.

"Too much that I wasn't even going to pay the original price—hell, I didn't want to pay for it with this price either!" she seethed as she went back to ranting at the captain who stood there clearly petrified. When she started showing signs of calming down, he finally found his voice and gave us both a quick rundown of what had been going on outside. "If that's the case, then it's okay that you destroyed my coat, you can just pay me back with interest—that would be 100,000 beli" the ginger smirked as an evil glint could now be seen in her eyes.

"Ah! You should have said so earlier, I wouldn't have taken it then!" Luffy shouted in distress as she only chuckled in return.

"Oh, you're quite the evil one, aren't you?" I giggled.

"Hey, I'm still right here!" Wapol snapped as he threw himself back up onto his feet, his voice now catching our attention.

"Oh, that's right, I still haven't kicked your ass" Luffy said which caused the man to explode with laughter as he motioned to the large, closed door that was located behind him. Going into a fairly quick explanation on what exactly laid inside the room that was located behind the door.

"I hope you're ready, Straw Hat because I'm going—" he stopped midsentence as he now noticed that the key he had been reaching for was apparently missing. "This isn't over!" he snapped as he quickly started to run away.

"Hey! He's getting away, come back!" Luffy quickly chased after him while leaving both Nami and me behind.

"This must be the key to the armory he was yapping about" Nami suddenly piped up which caused me to look towards her. I raised an eyebrow the moment I spotted the key she was holding.

"How did you get that?" I asked.

"That's a secret" she playfully responded with a wink while placing a finger over her lips in a shushing movement. "But, geez, why couldn't this have been the key to the castle's treasure vault, aw man" she pouted with a huff.

"Nami, Skylar, my loves!" Sanji suddenly called out. "Thank the heavens, I'm glad the both of you are okay!" he exclaimed as he came crawling towards us at a fast pace, a wide smile already stretched across his face.

"Thanks for your concern, but the better question is, are you alright?" I asked as Nami and I leaned down towards the blond.

"Yeah, Sanji, what exactly happened? Why are you crawling—are you okay?" Nami worriedly asked.

"I'm great now that I've seen you two, but there are two things that can make me feel better" the blond cooed as his one visible eye now trailed up to Nami's chest and turned into a heart. "If only I could rest my head on your beautiful bosom!" he exclaimed like an idiot as he started to lean forward before being knocked back down as Nami hit the back of his head.

"No way!" she huffed.

"Pretty…please?" he weakly begged in pain.

"Pervert" I sweat dropped before laughing as Nami shook her head at the blond-headed cook's actions. Soon our attention was drawn upwards the moment we heard a loud explosion. An explosion that caused a smile to spread across our faces. "It seems the captain has won" I commented

"Yep, seems so" Nami agreed before our attention was snatched up by the sound of a loud commotion happening right outside the castle doors.

-Later-

"Nami, you really should stay inside 'til your illness is treated" Sanji said as the three of us were hidden behind a damaged stone wall. Listening to Kureha who was on the other side with a bunch of other people talking about some things.

"I have to agree with blondie here, being out here isn't going to make your illness go away any quicker, and that isn't going to help in getting the old woman to let us out early" I added.

"It doesn't matter if I get better or not, so be quiet—if we don't escape now, we won't be able to set sail for two more days" Nami dismissively waved us both off. "You know how worried Vivi is, we need to get to Alabasta."

"Quit all this grumbling and get back to the medical ward" Kureha suddenly said as we all looked at one another in confusion, not sure who she was exactly talking to. "Move it, right now!" the wall beside us was suddenly destroyed as the woman had apparently kicked her foot right through it. I jumped as both Nami and Sanji screamed in fear at the sudden action and it wasn't long before we were taken back to the medical ward along with everyone else.

All around the room, there were looks of fear on everyone's faces as we all listened to Sanji's moans of pain coming from the next room over while the doctor was giving him a checkup.

"She's quite rough with her patients" I muttered from my spot lent up against the wall, rubbing the back of my head as I listened to the blonde's sounds of pain.

"Just as I expected, his injuries have gotten worse due to over-excursion" Kureha laughed the moment she entered the room, grabbing a nearby bottle of wine and chugging it down in the process before turning her attention towards a man that was bandaged up and rested on another bed in the room. I paid little attention to their conversation as I now crossed the room and made my way over towards where Nami and Vivi were seated. Not wasting a second in plopping down beside the princess right as Nami butted into the conversation between Kureha and the guy.

"Um...excuse me? But exactly who are you?" Vivi suddenly asked as she looked over towards me, apparently now a little wary that I had decided to sit right beside her. I didn't blame her, I'd be nervous too if someone I didn't recognize decided to sit next to me like we were buddies or something, especially when you take into consideration that none of the villagers in the room have even bothered to approach any of us this entire time.

"That hurts, Vivi, knowing that you don't remember me" I feigned being hurt as I placed a hand over my heart. "Surely I look no different than back when I was posing as a man—can't you just recognize this lovely face of mine?" I smirked.

"S-Skylar" she sputtered out, taken aback for a moment as her eyes now quickly scanned my appearance. "You're a female? But then why were you pretending to be a man this entire time?" she frowned as she now curiously leaned towards me.

"For reasons that I just don't feel like discussing" I shrugged.

"Oh" she looked a bit dejected with my answer and I could understand that as all it did was leave her with questions and no answers. "Then may I ask why you had kept such an act up for a long time with us?" she asked with the tilt of her head.

"I wanted to keep up the charade just a bit longer—being a man felt easier than being a woman" I said with another shrug of my shoulders. "Plus, it was fun while it lasted...though I don't mind going back to being a woman, that chest binder was really starting to get irritating if I'm being honest" she nodded her head, looking as if she kind of understood where I was coming from before our attention was quickly brought back towards Nami and Kureha's conversation which was starting to get a bit loud. The old woman now looking agitated as she glared at Nami who was currently spinning the key to the armory around on her finger.

"The key to the armory, this is what you wanted, right?" Nami smugly asked.

"How did you end up with the key?" the man that rested on the other bed asked, the longer I looked at him, the more I felt that he vaguely looked familiar as if I had caught a glimpse of him at some point.

"If that's truly the real one, then how did you get a hold of it?" Kureha asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I stole it" Nami simply answered.

"So much for it being a secret" I mumbled as I remembered what she had told me earlier.

"You sure got some guts trying to negotiate with me like this" Kureha scowled as she walked closer towards the ginger before harshly snatching the key out of her hands.

"Hey!" Nami snapped.

"You sure are a frustrating girl, you know that?" Kureha asked which caused the navigator to giggle. "Okay then, you don't have to pay my doctor's fee. But that's as much as I'll agree to—as a doctor, I can't let you leave until you're all healed up in two days" she said as she walked over to the door and grabbed her coat off the coat rack.

"Wait a minute, in that case, we don't have a deal—give it back!" Nami demanded, before being taken aback when the old woman suddenly yelled at her. Clearly and indirectly telling us in her own strange way how we could actually leave and she wouldn't really stop us before finally leaving the room herself and taking everyone else in the room with her. "Did she just tell us to steal her coat, get Sanji, and sneak out?"

"Yes, I do believe she did just tell us that" I nodded my head.

"I'm still surprised that you were a girl, yet at the same time not that much as you did have the same gentleness a woman would have" Vivi piped up as she still looked to somewhat be processing this new revelation.

"Honestly, I'm surprised with how long it took you all to figure it out" I chuckled. "With how many close calls I had and the amount of slips up I did, you were all still convinced I was a man" I said as I looked between the two women.

"Well, there wasn't really any reason for doubt, we just thought you were raised to be gentle" Nami defended.

"Really now?" I raised an eyebrow

"I mean just look at how your twin acted while we were on the island with you" she quickly pointed out as if to prove her point.

"Have you forgotten about my grouchy older brother?" I questioned, causing her to now go silent.

"Shut up, let's just get Sanji and go" she grumbled after a moment of silence as I laughed.


	11. Chapter Eleven

"Tony?" Nami questioned as we walked through the castle gates, both her and Vivi dragging Sanji by his legs behind them as I walked beside them.

"What's he doing out here?" I asked, looking at the little reindeer that was currently standing in front of Luffy.

"Hey, you're going to come onto our ship and be a pirate with us, okay!" Luffy stated as he threw his arms up into the air as if he had already decided what he wanted from the animal.

"I can't" Chopper sadly responded.

"Sure you can, reindeer, it's a whole lot of fun" Luffy seemed to argue.

"That's not a very good argument" Usopp frowned.

"I can't…I'm…I'm not a human, I'm a reindeer!" Chopper shouted. "I have antlers and hoofs, don't you see?! I even have a blue nose!" he frowned. "Okay, maybe I do want to become a pirate, but I can never be one of you—I'm not human...I'm a monster. I can't be your friend and I can't become a pirate on your ship, you see?" he cried out, seemingly on the verge of tears now. "I'm just here to say…thank you" he embarrassingly muttered as he now looked down.

"I appreciate you asking me to join your ship...that was really nice, so thank you. I'm going to stay here for now, but if you wanted to, you could stop by here again."

"Shut up! Let's go!" Luffy instantly shouted right back, throwing his arms once again up into the air while knocking his own hat right off his head in the process.

"Most people don't become friends when you tell them to shut up" Zoro grumbled as the reindeer now burst out into tears.

"It certainly is a unique way of making friends" I quietly giggled.

-Later-

"Nami, how are you feeling? Are you completely recovered?" Usopp asked as he now busied himself with building a snowman.

"Huh? Oh, yeah" Nami nodded.

"What about Skylar, is "he" alright?" the long-nosed pirate asked.

"Don't you mean she?" Nami corrected. "Because she's doing perfectly well" she couldn't help but smile at the confused expression she had received from the long-nosed pirate and even Zoro who had been listening in on to their conversation.

"What are you talking about? Skylar's a "man," aren't they?" the swordsman questioned.

"Who are you to go and assume my gender like that" I butted in, now playfully scolding the two.

"W-What!? When did this happen?!" they both shouted in shock as I burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Well your alls reaction to this sudden reveal is just amusing, I'm glad I decided to keep up the charade the way that I did" I cooed with a smile. Though that smile faltered a bit as soon as I locked eyes with Zoro, watching how he now scanned up and down my body as if examining every part of it before a glint appeared in his eyes. I waited for him to say something—anything. But, instead, I was only met with silence as he quickly turned his attention elsewhere. ' _Just give it some more time, I'm sure he'll come around_ ' I told myself as my shoulders slightly deflated.

"Hey, why don't we go say goodbye to that Dalton guy and old lady" Luffy suggested as he rolled around on what appeared to be a giant snowball.

"Don't speak nonsense, Chopper needs time to talk to Doctorine" Nami lightly scowled as Usopp stared at the rubber man in slight awe by what he was doing. My mind wandered a bit as I looked over at the castle and up towards the flag that was being blown around in the wind, such a sight now bringing a small smile to my face.

"Hey" I jumped the moment I suddenly heard Zoro's voice right in my ear. Quickly turning my head in his direction, I felt the way my heart now pounded inside my chest as I locked eyes with him once more.

"Hey" I muttered right back, quick to look away and back up at the flag. "Is there something you need?" I asked, watching from the corner of my eye as he opened his mouth and looked ready to speak before suddenly stopping. There was a look of hesitance in his eyes now as if he didn't really know what he wanted to say and instead decided to just shake his head in response.

"No, it's nothing, just was wondering if you were doing alright?" he finally asked.

"Oh" I deadpanned.

"What's that face for?! Am I not allowed to ask if you're fine or not?!" he snapped as his cheeks suddenly flared up in either embarrassment or anger, I don't know which.

"No, that isn't it" I giggled at his reaction before sighing. "I was just…it's nothing, thank you for asking, but I'm doing fine" I responded, giving him a gentle smile that only seemed to deepen the flush on his face as he now looked elsewhere.

"That's good" he quietly grumbled.

"Doctorine acts all tough around us, but deep down inside, she's a nice person" my ears twitched as I heard Nami say this.

"Hm, you sure?" Luffy questioned.

"I'm going with Nami on this, she's a kind old woman, it's just that she shows her kindness in her own strange violent way" I butted in.

"Right, that's exactly what it is" Nami agreed.

"So, we're just going to leave without saying anything to her?" Usopp asked as he looked at the navigator.

"Yeah, that's right" Nami nodded. "Once Chopper comes back, we'll head straight down the mountain and set sail to Alabasta" she smiled as she looked over towards the princess. "Sounds good to you, right, Vivi?"

"Yes, now that we have a doctor coming with us" the princess agreed with a relieved smile.

"Doctor?" Luffy questioned.

"Well, in that case, I'll go ahead and get the ropeway ready" Usopp piped up as he started to walk away. "Hey, Luffy, give me a hand" he requested of the raven-haired man.

"I didn't even know there was a ropeway, so cool" Luffy widely smiled as he hopped off the giant snowball and followed behind the other pirate.

"What's going on, there's a lot of noise coming from inside the castle?" Zoro questioned as all of our attention was now directed towards the castle.

"No one's considerate, making noise while those two are trying to say goodbye" Nami huffed as she placed her hands on her hips. "That's just downright rude."

"Oh, finally, here he comes" Zoro pointed out the moment he spotted Chopper rushing towards us—said reindeer was now in his deer form as he pulled a sleigh behind him.

"He looks like he's running from something" I noted the second I saw the slightly terrified look on his face.

"Huh? You're right" Nami agreed. "What's going on? He's being chased?" she squinted her eyes in puzzlement. It wasn't long before we saw what exactly was happening as coming in view behind the reindeer was Kureha who was currently chasing him. A look of frustration on her face as she wildly swung around a mace.

"Hey, we got the ropeway ready, ready to go?" Usopp shouted.

"Everyone, get on the sleigh!" Chopper demanded. "We're going to head down the mountain, hurry!" he shouted as he rushed towards us while heavily panting. Screams soon filled the air as we all quickly jumped into the moving sleigh the minute Kureha sent the mace flying towards us. Though it only ended up harmlessly landing on the ground and sending snow flying everywhere just as we started to race down the ropeway. Nearly everyone clung onto the sides of the sleigh while Usopp tightly held onto Luffy who was flapping around near the back of it as if he was about to fall out. Things didn't seem to calm down until we were all finally seated and being pulled through the woods.

"Hahaha! Hey, reindeer, can we do that again?!" Luffy cheerfully laughed.

"Idiot, we don't have time for that!" Nami snapped

"I thought I was going to die" Usopp whimpered as he clutched his chest.

"It was quite a terrifying experience, but you can't argue with Luffy that it wasn't a little bit fun" I said.

"Don't go siding with that idiot! There was nothing fun about that at all!" Nami snapped as she swatted at me. I laughed as I held my hands up in a weak attempt to defend myself.

"Hey, where am I? What's going on?" Sanji suddenly asked as he finally woke up.

"Oh, Sanji, you're awake" Vivi sighed in relief. "Are you okay?" she asked. Just as we were closing in on the area where our ship was docked, we came to a sudden stop as the sounds of cannons being fired now echoed through the air.

"Cool!" Luffy awed as we stared up at the suddenly vibrant colored sky. Chopper was also in awe as he turned back into his normal self and took a few steps forwards towards the direction we had just come from. His eyes now focused on the sky and nothing else.

"It's beautiful" I breathed out.

"Yeah" Sanji agreed.

"Wow!" Nami breathlessly awed.

"That's one hell of a way to say goodbye" I muttered as Zoro hummed in agreement from beside me, nodding his head.

"Doctor…Doctorine!" Chopper choked out as tears now raced down his face, his attention still focused on the sky above us. It took a while, but we eventually made our way back to the ship and hung around for a couple of more minutes. Quietly admiring the sky and pink colored snow that fluttered down as it now looked as if they were petals falling from a cherry blossom tree instead of snow falling from clouds.


	12. Chapter Twelve

"Hey, you think Chopper's okay?" Usopp asked. "He looks a bit down" he noted.

"He'll be fine, just leave him alone right now" Nami said as she dismissively waved him off.

"It's an emotional time—it's his first journey as a man, it's a passage" Sanji remarked as a billow of smoke blew past his lips.

"And he's about to leave Drum Island for good, it's been his home his entire life" Vivi added.

"As well as the fact that he's leaving behind people he loves and won't be able to see them for the longest time" I butted in. "That's got to be pretty hard on him."

"Yeah" Usopp agreed. "Though I don't remember you having that rough of a time adjusting to leaving your island behind, Skylar" he pointed out.

"Well, first off, that island didn't really feel like that much of a home and yeah, I was going through a rough time" I corrected him. "There were times where I feared I made the wrong choice even if Sora and Cloud were alright with me leaving, but I also didn't want to bring down your guys' mood at the time, so I didn't express those feelings that much" I explained with the shrug of my shoulders as I leaned back against the railing. "Does that answer any questions you all may have had?" I asked.

"Yes" they all nodded as I snorted.

"I'm leaving with them, Doctor and Doctorine, my adventure is finally starting right now on this ship" Chopper softly mumbled as a little party now broke out among the crew. I sat off to the side with the reindeer as the others cheered and started to have their own fun.

"I'm sure the Doctor and old woman are proud of you" I piped up from where I was standing beside the reindeer.

"Huh?" he questioned with the tilt of his head.

"I mean that they're happy with the decision you've made, shouldn't that be enough for you to get out there and celebrate with the others?" I asked, now watching him from the corner of my eye.

"I guess your right" he smiled a little before being taken aback as Usopp had wandered over and started to drag him off to join the others in their fun. Even going as far as to offer him a drink.

"Well, this isn't my type of party" I sighed as I now began to make my way towards the men's room.

"Skylar?" Vivi questioned the moment I passed by her and a shivering Carue—we had actually found the poor bird freezing in the water for some reason when we had reached the ship. "Where are you going?" she curiously asked.

"Going to go take a nap" I answered,

"Don't you want to hang around and celebrate with the others?" she inquired with the tilt of her head.

"Sorry, but drinking isn't my forte" I admitted to her with a shrug. "But taking a nap, that's some good shit right there" I smiled as I received a laugh from the princess as she now waved me off. Going down below deck and into the men's room, I collapsed onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling while draping an arm over my forehead. The muffled sounds of my cheering friends now mixing along with the gentle waves that crashed onto the bottom of the boat being just enough to help lull me asleep.

-Time Skip-

"Do I have to wear these? Is there a reason I have to wear these?" I probed at Nami as I stood beside her, messing with a strand of thread near the bottom of the jean shorts I had been forced into this morning.

"Yes, and yes" she answered.

"What reasons are there?" I pressed.

"For starters, its been getting warmer lately, so there's no need for you to be wearing jeans unless you want to suffer a heat stroke and second, now that we know you're a girl—you should start dressing like one" she simply responded.

"How dare you tell me how to dress, what are you, sexist?" I snickered as I covered the back of my head when the woman started to swat at me. "Kidding! Kidding!" I laughed at the glare she shot me. "I understand where you're coming from and they're not bad, but they don't exactly scream me."

"I think you look nice in them, gives you a chance to show off those legs of yours" she remarked with a small smile as I only grumbled in response.

"This is amazing, Luffy, the sea seems to go on forever!" I heard Chopper exclaim as he and the captain currently sat on the ship's railing and looked out towards the sea. Hearing him say such a thing brought a small smile to my lips.

"Yeah, it's huge and pirates get to have great adventures on it all the time" Luffy grinned.

"They both seem to share that similar childlike wonder" I giggled.

"No kidding" Nami muttered as she leaned against the top railing and stared down at the two.

"Incredible, being a pirate must be really great!" Chopper smiled before making a confused sound as the sky suddenly darkened. I curiously hummed as I tilted my head back and look upwards, squinting my eyes in the process as I now spotted the shape of a large bird flying above us.

"It's a seagull" Luffy claimed.

"No way, there aren't any seagulls that big" Nami argued.

"That and it also doesn't really look that much like a seagull" I added.

"Hey, seagull!" Luffy shouted as he quickly stood up and started waving his arms. Such an action seemingly doing the trick in catching the bird's attention as it swooped down and flew straight towards us.

"Ah! It's coming right towards us!" Nami frightfully cried out.

"See, I was right, it was a seagull" Luffy stated.

"I don't think you fully grasp the situation at hand" I sweat dropped as Nami in her fear and frustration now started shouting insults towards the rubber man as he and Chopper stared at the bird in amazement as it drew closer. Soon the navigator dropped to the deck and curled into a ball while I threw my hands over my head and squatted down the moment the bird flew right over us. The harsh wind that came from the beating of its wings rocking the ship around as water splashed upwards onto the deck of the ship. Carefully peeking upwards and slowing standing back up, I sighed in relief and placed my hands on my knees as I leaned over Nami who was still curled up on the floor.

"It's gone, you can stand up now" I said as I gave her a look of sympathy the moment she peeked an eye opened.

"Y-you sure?" she whimpered.

"Yep" I nodded as I held a hand out and helped pulled her up.

"Where did Luffy go?" she asked as she now looked around to see if any damage had been inflicted onto the ship.

"I'm not sure, he was here when the bird flew by" I said. "You don't think he fell overboard, do you?" I asked, looking around as well.

"I hope not" she mumbled.

"Yahoo!" our attention was drawn upwards when we both heard our captain shout.

"Found him" I said, pointing upwards towards the bird's mouth where he had his arms wrapped tightly around it.

"Luffy, run! You're about to become that bird's dinner!" Nami shouted up at him as Chopper quickly rushed towards the back of the ship where the other men were located. Curiously, I followed him to see what they were doing back there and why none of them had come running towards the front of the ship when the bird had suddenly flown right over top of us.

"Something horrible has happened, you guys!" Chopper cried out as he pointed up at the sky. Sputtering out a sloppy explanation of what had happened while Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp were busying themselves by playing a game of cards. The reindeer soon came to a sudden halt as he looked back up towards Luffy who was now stretching his limbs all around the bird and harshly started twirling it around in the air. "Amazing" he breathed out in awe. I flinched the second the captain suddenly smashed the bird down headfirst onto the ship near the guys which knocked them all over in the process.

"Hey, Sanji, I got some meat for us—look!" Luffy proudly sat in front of the knocked-out bird as he pointed at it.

"Is it even still alive at this point or did you kill it with a heart attack?" I asked as I wandered over and lightly kicked the bird's side to see if it would move, it didn't. All I received as an answer from the captain was a cheerful laugh.

"Why are you guys sleeping?" he suddenly asked when he finally noticed that his sudden action of slamming the bird down onto the deck had knocked out the other men.

"We're not, you idiot!" Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp snapped as they quickly sat up which caused me to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?!" Zoro snapped, a light tinge of pink now dusting over his cheeks as he frowned.

"Nothing, please, continue being angry with our captain" I covered my mouth in an attempt to silence my laughter as I motioned for the group to continue what they were doing.

"Gladly—Luffy, you owe me this one! I had a really good hand!" Usopp angrily snapped as he glared at the rubber man.

"Oh yeah, oops" Luffy laughed.

"Whoa, that's a huge bird" Sanji remarked as he finally noticed the animal that was knocked out behind our captain.

"Does this mean we'll be having some decent meals from now on?" Zoro asked.

"Can we eat it?" Usopp questioned.

"No, we're going to cook it and then throw it overboard for the fishes" I sarcastically replied.

"Don't even joke about that!" Usopp whined as I giggled, now wandering closer to the men before stopping right between him and Zoro.

"Hey, Chopper, is something wrong?" Luffy suddenly asked which caused me to take a quick glance at the reindeer before giving a small "aw" when I saw the childish look on his face. He looked as if he had just met his favorite superhero what with how his eyes were sparkling with admiration and all that for our captain. I soon grew disinterested in whatever conversation had now broken out between the men, deciding to now just wander off and go find Nami and Vivi.

"Hey, where are you going?" Zoro silently piped up as I walked past him. Stopping, I looked back at him and tilted my head.

"To go hang out with the other women, is there a problem with that?" I asked.

"Well...um...no, not exactly" he nervously responded as he rubbed the back of his head and looked elsewhere. "I was just wondering..." he muttered. "W-wait" he quickly stuttered out when I was about to walk off again after waiting for a moment or two for him to keep talking.

"What now?" I asked, the corners of my lips tugging upwards as I watched his cheeks suddenly darken in color.

"I…um…well…those are some nice shorts" he suddenly complimented, giving a nervous smile and a weak laugh. I couldn't tell if that's what he had really wanted to say this entire time or not.

"Oh, thanks" I deadpanned as my lips pulled back into a straight line.

"W-what's that face for?!" he sputtered out in embarrassment as if he wasn't expecting that sort of reaction. I giggled as I shook my head and reached my hand upwards to pat the top of his head.

"No reason, once again, thank you for the compliment" I softly cooed out, watching as his blush spread further over his face as he slowly nodded his head and averted his gaze elsewhere. Just as I was about to walk over to the front of the ship, I jumped back with a yelp when I almost bumped into Nami.

"You alright?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you just surprised me, that's all" I laughed as I held my hand over my beating heart while she only nodded her head.

"Hey, listen up, you guys!" she called out to the others, catching their attention and dragging it away from the oversized bird. "We'll be landing in Alabasta soon—this is no time to be joking around like a pack of hyenas, so come on" she motioned with her head for them to follow before turning around and walking back to the front of the ship. I followed close behind her, a shiver suddenly racking up my spine as I felt like there were eyes now intensely drilling holes into the back of my head.

"Yes, ma'am!" I heard the men salute behind me as they started to obediently follow as well. We all were soon sat down around one another as Chopper was now given a quick rundown of the current situation. All too quickly did a small yelp soon escape past my lips as I was suddenly yanked down into a sitting position right beside Zoro.

"A bit rough there, weren't we?" I chuckled as I scratched my cheek and looked around in slight embarrassment as I watched how the yelp had caught a few crewmates' attention. From the corner of my eye, I saw that his cheeks were once again flushed but he didn't comment on my statement and instead kept quiet. It was silent for a moment after that before my body jerked at the sudden feeling of someone pinching my bottom which caused me to snap my head towards Zoro, though he seemed to be looking elsewhere. Looking as if he wasn't really paying attention to me at all, but that didn't mean I didn't catch the small smirk that slowly spread across his face the longer I stared at him.

-Later-

I leaned back onto my arms as I sat beside the now passed out swordsman who was choosing to snooze the afternoon away. Currently, I was engrossed with the conversation that was being exchanged between Luffy and Sanji.

"Don't lie to me, Luffy—tell me what you know right now!" Sanji demanded as he removed his cigarette from between his lips and harshly pointed at the rubber man who averted his gaze elsewhere. "Don't look away from me, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me the truth" he growled as he now grabbed a hold of the raven-haired man's face.

"No idea what you mean, Sanji" Luffy pursed his lips as he quickly knocked away the blonde's hand and waved his own hand in front of his face. "I don't know anything, no clue."

"Then let me ask you—how did enough food for nine people, which I carefully divided up so it would last until we reach Alabasta, suddenly go missing in the middle of the night?" Sanji asked, growing more and more agitated by the minute as Luffy continued to avoid eye contact with him. "Lying is pointless, so just tell me the truth, you have a terrible poker face" he grumbled as he took hold of Luffy's face once again. It wasn't long before he huffed and let go of the captain's face so he could now straighten his posture. Casually placing his cigarette back in his mouth as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Oh, hey, looks like you have something around your mouth" he suddenly claimed, now leaning forward to get a closer look.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

"Ah! I forgot about the crumbs!" Luffy shouted as he was quick to cover his mouth as if to hide the evidence that was already discovered.

"I knew it was you!" Sanji angrily snapped. I winced at the rough kick Luffy received to the face which sent him flying backward and smashing into the wall. "Jerk" the blond huffed out before turning to look up at Nami and Vivi. "Hey, Nami, we need to do something—we need a better way of keeping the food safe from Luffy, can we please buy a refrigerator that locks?" he asked as little puffs of smoke in the shape of hearts left the end of his cigarette.

"Well, maybe" Nami mulled over the suggestion, her eyes still scanning the map in front of her. "Might be a good idea since it could be a matter of life and death" she mumbled, lowering the map so that she could look towards Usopp, Carue, and Chopper. All three of them were peacefully fishing as the sound of chewing could be heard coming from their direction.

"Well, we do need to catch something for Sanji" Usopp nervously said as Carue quaked in agreement.

"So, how's the fishing going?" Sanji calmly asked, walking up behind the three and resting his hands on top of both Usopp and Carue's heads which caused the two to immediately tense up.

"Well…um…it's...um…" Usopp nervously sputtered out before his, Chopper, and Carue's heads were all harshly smashed against one another.

"That's got to hurt" I hissed out, scrunching my nose up as I winced.

"Pathetic, I can't take my eyes off anyone" Sanji grumbled as the three fell over.

-Later-

I leaned over the railing between Luffy and Usopp, listening to the sound of the rubber man's stomach lowly rumbling.

"Whoa, I'm hungry" he moaned as he removed one of his hands off the fishing pole he was holding to place it over his growling stomach. "And to make matters worse, the fish aren't even biting."

"When are you ever not hungry?" I asked.

"Tell me about it, you do realize that this is all your fault?" Usopp frowned. "You ate all the bait that we had, the fish won't ever bite if we don't give them a reason to!" he snapped.

"You ate all the fish bait?" I questioned, my nose scrunching up in disgust as I looked at Luffy.

"Hey, he ate some too!" he quickly defended as he pointed at Usopp.

"Yeah, but I only ate a little bit—what was stuck to the lid" the long-nosed pirate mumbled as he too was quick to defend himself.

"How hungry would you have to have been to eat fish bait?" I gagged at the thought.

"It wasn't that bad" they both now defended as I shook my head and stuck my tongue out in disgust.

"Doesn't matter if it tasted good, just the thought of doing something like that is unpleasant—let's just change the subject" I said.

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Vivi asked as she wandered over towards us.

"Not good" I muttered as I leaned fully over the railing and peered down at the substitute "bait" the two men were apparently using.

"Catch anything yet?" the princess questioned.

"This is not going to end well" I sighed which caused her to raise a questioning eyebrow as I continued to stare down at the struggling Carue that was tied up and dangling over the water. I slowly scooted over as Vivi pushed her way between Usopp and me to stare down at her suddenly rowdy duck.

"Carue!?" she screamed.

"Do you think we can catch a shark?" Luffy asked.

"Don't know, I really want to catch a Sea King" Usopp shrugged.

"Stop fishing with my duck, you jerks!" Vivi snapped, as she hit the two on the back of the head. "And you!" I jumped as she turned her glare on me.

"What about me?" I asked with the tilt of my head.

"Why didn't you stop them earlier?!"

"What was I supposed to do?" I asked. "They were already using your duck as bait when I first wandered over here, besides, they probably wouldn't have caught anything at all…I think" I said.

"You think?!" she snapped.

"Okay, I can see that you're mad" I said as I raised my hands up in defense. "So, I promise that next time I catch them doing something like this, I'll put a stop to it right away" I quickly promised, giving a small smile to the woman as she narrowed her eyes and stared me down as if she thought I was lying. After a while, she looked pleased with my response and started to walk away before coming to a halt.

"Hey, look over there, you three" she suddenly said as she pointed towards a strange cloud of green smoke that was billowing out of the ocean.

"What is that stuff?" Usopp asked.

"Cotton candy?" Luffy suggested.

"What kind of cotton candy comes out of the ocean?" I sweat dropped as he responded with a quiet "I don't know" and shrugged.

"You guys, wait here, I'll go get Nami" Vivi said as she raced off to go and retrieve the navigator.

"Oh, I see, there's nothing to worry about—it's just a little steam" Nami claimed as she stepped out of the kitchen and leaned against the upper railing to see what was concerning the princess.

"You're saying that steam is coming out of the ocean?" Vivi questioned.

"Yeah, a hot spot, that's all" Nami nodded.

"What's a hot spot?" Luffy suddenly asked.

"An area of the sea where magma is made, below the sea over there is an undersea volcano" the navigator simply explained as she pointed outwards towards the green smoke.

"There are volcanoes under the sea?" Chopper soon piped up, listening closely to the ginger haired woman who went on to explain to him the reason why such a thing was possible.

"Shouldn't you two be pulling Carue back up by now?" I asked, directing my attention back towards the duck as I wasn't really interested in having a lesson about geography.

"Huh? Oh, we will, but let's just wait a little bit longer" Luffy suggested.

"Yeah, we'll pull him up the minute we sense he's in danger" Usopp agreed, nodding his head as I sweat dropped. My nose soon scrunched up the moment we started to pass through the green smoke. "Yuck! It smells like sulfur!" the long-nosed pirate gagged as we desperately tried to cover our noses from the horrible smell that was assaulting our senses.

"I can't see anything, there's steam everywhere!" Luffy coughed out as he squinted his eyes in an attempt to peer through the smoke.

"Bear with it, we should be out of this steam soon!" Nami told us, her hands now clamped over her mouth and nose in an attempt to block out the smell. When we had finally left the green smoke and was slowly sailing further and further away from it, we finally noticed that Usopp and Luffy's fishing rods were being weighed down.

"Hey, I think you two caught something" I pointed out.

"Really?!" they both asked in excitement as they quickly started reeling their fishing lines back up and now bringing Carue back into view. Our jaws dropped the moment we saw what they had caught.

"Wahh!" Carue cried out as he started to flail around once more when he spotted the strangely dressed man that was now clinging onto him.

"No really, this is getting out of hand, I really need to stop jumping onto every random duck I see" the man sighed.

"What is that?" Luffy asked as he looked at Usopp and me.

"I believe it's a man…I think, the outfit is really throwing me off, but so are the unshaved legs" I said as we jumped back when the man seemed to have finally lost his grip on the duck and fell right back into the water.

"You have to help me, please! Get me out, please, I can't swim!" he frantically begged as he flailed his arms around. Water splashing all around him as he tried in a desperate attempt to stay above the water and not sink below its surface. Reacting fast, we all made quick work in pulling him out of the water and back onto the deck of our ship where he collapsed in a panting mess. "I thought I was going to die there for a minute" he heavily panted as he clutched at his chest. I flinched the moment I suddenly felt something wrap itself around my ankle.

"Yes?" I whispered as I looked down at Zoro who was seated on the ground, his hand now wrapped around my ankle with his thumb rubbing the exposed skin.

"Nothing, pay attention" he grunted out as I raised an eyebrow. ' _Strange, but also sort of cute_ ' I thought, deciding to interpret the action as something akin to a protective hold. Perhaps he did remember or he could be doing this for an entirely different reason. Whichever one.

"Hey, you saved me, thanks" the man thanked us as he brought one of his hands up and bowed. "I never thought my life would be saved by complete strangers, thanks again—I'll never forget your kindness" he continued as he bowed over and over before finally stopping when his stomach released a sudden low growl. "Although, could I trouble you for a cup of warm soup? Chicken noodle will do."

"No way!" everyone shouted.

"We can't even feed ourselves!" Zoro snapped.

"I don't know, we did go through the trouble of saving the guy maybe—"

"Don't" Nami interrupted as she narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, guess we've fulfilled our amount of kindness for today it seems" I joked, giggling as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hey" the man suddenly piped up the moment he spotted Vivi. "You're just an absolute cutie, aren't you? Oh yeah, sexy" he complimented as he looked up at the princess who stared down at us from the upper part of the deck.

"Ugh, so weird" Vivi muttered in slight disgust.

"So...um…you really can't swim, huh?" Luffy questioned as he tried to start a conversation with this stranger.

"That's right, you see, I ate a Devil Fruit" the man answered. "So, I can't swim" he pointed out as his body now swayed from side to side.

"What kind of fruit?" Usopp inquired as he curiously leaned forward.

"Let's see, well since I can't go anywhere until my ship picks me up, I guess there's no harm in a little fun" the man said as he finally stood up. "For saving my life, I'll show you, now get ready—this is my power!" he boasted, striking Luffy and sending the rubber man flying backward. I felt Zoro's hand slip away from my ankle as he tensed up and grabbed a hold of his swords while the rest of us stared on in a state of shock.

"Why you..." the swordsman grounded out as he stood up and drew two of his swords.

"Wait, wait—hold on a second, this is all for a little fun, remember?" a familiar voice asked as the man held his hands up in defense. His face and his voice were now identical to Luffy's.

"H-huh?" Zoro sputtered out in shock as he halted in his movement.

"Hey now, mean guy, relax" the man cooed as he leaned forward with a wide smile.

"No way, that's me!" Luffy gaped as he hopped back up off the ground and stared in awe at the man.

"Fun, fun, fun" the man repeated with a goofy smile spread across his face. "And if I touch my face with my left hand, I'm back to normal!" he laughed as his face and voice returned back to how they were before the moment he did the action he spoke of.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

"That's the power of the Clone Clone Fruit!" the man boasted.

"That's amazing!" Nami awed.

"I have to agree, that is a pretty neat power, you could basically get away with anything by pretending to be someone else" I chuckled.

"The face and the voice matched perfectly" Usopp said in amazement as the man twirled past everyone, gently touching our cheeks as he did so.

"You see, I didn't have to hit you that hard, okay—now watch" he said as he touched his right hand to his face, changing his facial features and voice to match Usopp's. "All I have to do is touch my right hand to you, as you can see, I can turn into anyone" he said as he kept changing his appearance into each one of us. It felt weird seeing my own face—I didn't like it. "That's not all, I can change bodies too" he had stopped on Nami's appearance, pulling open his shirt and flashing the men in front of him.

This simple act was enough to get Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper to freak out just a little.

"Stop that!" Nami snapped as she hit the man on top of the head.

"Not the best example to use while in the presence of the person you're copying" I commented before jumping as I suddenly felt light fingers brush against my backside. Looking left and right, I soon stared at Zoro who was standing beside me with his arms crossed over his chest. "Excuse you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?" he hummed, looking at me from the corner of her eye. His lips twitching as if he was trying to keep them from changing from the current straight line that they were in. "Yes? Is something wrong?"

"Did you...uh...I mean…shit..." I muttered as my shoulders deflated and my cheeks flared. How the hell where you supposed to confront someone with a question like that? Besides, it was such a light and almost nonexistent touch that it could have just been a strand of my hair. "It's nothing."

"You're looking a bit flustered, are you certain you're alright?" he asked, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face now as he leaned forward.

"Look, buddy, if I say I'm alright then I'm alright—are you alright?" I inquired. "Perhaps you caught a serious case of the pervert disease" I snorted at the deadpanned expression I received before his face exploded with color.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" he snapped as I decided to now look elsewhere.

"Uh...guy? Are you okay?" my attention was quickly brought back over to Luffy and them when I heard the captain speak.

"Oh, well, I'm terribly sorry" the man apologized. "But, I shouldn't demonstrate my power anymore" he said as he quickly bounced back up off the ground and onto his feet.

"No, please do more!" Luffy begged as Usopp and Chopper cheered on the man as if to encourage him to keep showing off that power of his.

"Okay, if you insist, then I guess I can demonstrate some more" he smiled widely, pleased with the cheers of excitement he was receiving.

"He's really hamming it up, huh?" Nami questioned as she crossed her arms.

"I can assume that this might be the first time he's actually had himself an audience to show off his ability to" I guessed as she, Zoro, and I watched as the man twirled around. Constantly changing his appearance as he did so.

"This is boring" Zoro suddenly grumbled as he crossed his arms as well and leaned back against the railing.

"To you perhaps, but I find it quite fascinating" I hummed.

"How so?" Nami asked.

"Well, just the ability to change one's appearance and vocal cords is just interesting because you can do a lot of good and bad things with it" I pointed out. "Just imagine what would happen if the wrong person had a hold of that ability, the damage they could cause" I said. "But also, haven't you ever wondered what it'd be like to be another person once in your life?"

"Well yeah, but he's not another person, he just takes on the looks of another person—not their personality" Nami pointed out as I nodded my head.

"True, but just that simple act of taking another's appearance opens up many opportunities to take over that person's life" I shot back. "But, who knows? I might just be overthinking all this" I shrugged my shoulders as I stared back at the four.

"Well, you do seem to have a very active…thought process" Nami mumbled as she too directed her attention back towards the four.

"Well, did everyone enjoy my special secret talent?" the man proudly asked. "It's quite impressive, but I never show it off" he explained as he and the other three started to dance around in a cheerful mood.

"Oh, whatever" Nami huffed as she turned her back on the four only to halt when she caught sight of a ship coming our way. It seemed she wasn't the only one to spot it as the man also caught sight of it as well.

"It's time to say goodbye already?" he whined. "What a shame!"

"No!" Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp cried out

"No, you can't leave, please don't go!" Usopp begged.

"Try not to be sad, journeys must always include farewells, and yet I will never forget you or today" the man told them. "It's been brief, but true friendship isn't determined by time—don't cry friends" he stated as the other ship now pulled up beside us. With a smile, he quickly jumped from our ship and onto this new one.

"See ya, cool guy!" Luffy shouted as he, Usopp, and Chopper all waved bye.

"Now quickly, let's get going!" the man loudly ordered.

"Yes sir, Mr. Two!" the men on the opposite ship saluted as they started to sail away from us.

"What?! Mr. Two?!" Usopp gaped.

"That guy was Mr. Two?!" Vivi asked.

"Didn't think this Crocodile guy would pick someone like that to work under him, didn't look very intimidating" I muttered. "But, then again, you can never truly judge a book by its cover."

"Vivi? You mean you didn't know him just by looking?" Luffy asked.

"Uh-uh, I've never met Mr. Two or Mr. One and his partner—I don't know much about them or what their powers may be" the princess responded as she shook her head. "Though I have heard rumors about them all, I heard about Mr. Two. Apparently, he's a very tall ballerina, talks like a woman, and he always wears a swan coat that says "Bon Clay" on the back."

"Didn't know" Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp deadpanned as they all stood in a straight line, remembering the large writing that had been on the back of the man's coat.

"Is something wrong, Vivi?" Luffy worriedly asked as he saw the horror-stricken expression the princess now wore.

"I saw something in his memory—in the faces that he showed, one of those faces belonged to my father" she explained, placing a hand on top of her head as if to suppress an oncoming headache. "Nefertari Cobra, my father, the king of Alabasta" she added.

"That's not good, he morphed the face of a king that easily, Mr. Two has the potential to cause a lot of trouble" Zoro frowned.

"Seems that power really did end up in the wrong hands" I sighed. "Sad, seeing how it really was interesting" I mumbled.

"That isn't important right now, looks like we let a really bad guy getaway today, huh?" Usopp questioned.

"So, that guy was our enemy?" Chopper inquired as he looked at all of us with the tilt of his head.

"Seems so, and having him on the other side is not a good thing" Nami nodded. "If Mr. Two realizes that we're the ones Baroque Works is after, then he can use the memories he got from us earlier and use them to transform into any one of us. We won't be able to trust our own friends!" she worriedly frowned.

"That is quite a predicament" I added.

"Yeah, you're telling me" she grumbled.

"Really?" Luffy suddenly questioned, looking as if he didn't understand the problem.

"I'll explain it again" Nami irritably huffed before suddenly being stopped by Zoro.

"No, hold on a sec—Luffy's slow, but he's right not to be scared" he said, as he clasped a hand right down onto one of Luffy's shoulders. "Just hear me out on this one and I think you'll agree, it's actually a good thing we ran into Mr. Two when we did. Because now we can prepare and we can beat him at his own game" he smirked as everyone gave him curious looks.

"Exactly what did you have in mind?" I curiously asked.

"I'm glad you asked" he said as he started to motion everyone closer to voice his idea before halting as the ship suddenly started to roughly rock back and forth. I shot my arms out when I almost lost my balance, Nami flinching and leaning back in the process as she was almost struck by one of my arms.

"Hey, watch it!" she snapped as I balanced myself once again.

"Sorry, perhaps next time I should fall on my ass just to save that beautiful face of yours from being damaged" I sarcastically apologized.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me!" she frowned before we both couldn't help but laugh.

"Whoa! That thing is huge!" Luffy exclaimed as his eyes turned into stars while he stared up at the giant…fish? Cat? Both? Whatever it was that came out of the water.

"A Sea Cat!" Vivi gasped.

"It's a Sea Monster!" Chopper cried out in fear as both he and Usopp started to run around—seemingly freaked out by the Sea Cat's appearance.

"It looks like food to me" Zoro smirked as he started to pull out his swords.

"Yeah, let's go!" Luffy agreed.

"We're on the right track, now if only we can just get there alive, that would be great" Nami ignored everything that was happening as she opted instead to look down at the Eternal Pose she was holding.

"Food for me!" Luffy cheered which seemed to scare the poor thing as the Sea Cat started to quickly back away from the ship. ' _Cute_ ' I thought—I've always had a sweet spot for animals, especially cute ones.

"It's backing away" Zoro pointed out.

"Reverse! Put the ship in reverse!" the captain ordered.

"No, we can't do that!" Usopp snapped.

"Hey, don't let it get away! If the two of you don't capture it, I'll kill you!" Sanji threatened as he now came rushing out of the kitchen to join us. "Now then, Sea Kitten, how do you think I should cook you?" he inquired as I found myself frowning.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

"No!" Vivi and I shouted as I tackled Zoro to the ground and she knocked the other two onto the floor while the Sea Cat took this chance to dive back into the ocean and disappear.

"Vivi? Skylar? What are you doing?! I'm hungry?!" Luffy whined.

"Why? Just why? It was food!" Sanji complained.

"Because you can't eat a Sea Cat, I won't let you!" Vivi lightly scowled. "Sea Cats are sacred animals in Alabasta" she explained.

"Well, that's good to know" Luffy groaned.

"But, Skylar, I didn't expect you to jump in the way that you did—is there a reason why?" Vivi curiously asked as she now turned her attention towards me while I sat up on Zoro's stomach.

"Yeah, aren't you hungry also? Why'd you let it get away?" Zoro frowned. "That thing could have helped make up for all the food Luffy ate earlier!" he grunted underneath me.

"I am hungry, but...I like cute things far too much to let you hurt the poor thing" I admitted, scratching my cheek as I laughed. "It was adorable and terrified; therefore, I didn't want to witness any of you causing harm to it" I claimed as I crossed my arms.

"What about Chopper? What do you think about him?" Usopp asked as he motioned to the reindeer behind him that started to look shy.

"Well, I think he's the cutest thing to ever exist!" I cooed out with a smile that only widened as I watched the reindeer start to go through his normal wave of changing emotions due to this compliment.

"Mind getting off?" Zoro grunted.

"Nah, you have a pretty soft stomach" I teased as I shifted around a bit before yelping as I was suddenly knocked off him and onto the deck. "Rude" I muttered as I glared up at him while he sat up. He only burst out laughing as there was a certain glint in his eyes, though it seemed to disappear just as quickly as it had appeared. I barely paid attention to the few crewmates that gave us questioning looks but didn't decide to speak up as they only brushed off our interaction.

"There are more animals in the ocean than I thought" Chopper suddenly piped up.

"If you're still scared of that stuff, then you still got a long way to go" Usopp was quick to captivate the reindeer's attention as he dived right into one of his over-exaggerated tales.

"He'd make a great author" I muttered as I sat up.

"You think so?" Zoro asked from beside me as I nodded my head. "I think you might be right" he mumbled as we watched just how entranced Chopper was in listening to Usopp's tale.

"Our food got away!" Luffy cried loudly as he started to chew on the railing as if he was starving to death at this very moment.

"Yeah, but don't worry, Luffy—you'll be able to stuff yourself really soon" Vivi reassured him.

"Yeah, really?" he perked up upon hearing her say this. "Will we get another cat to eat, Vivi?" he asked.

"Vivi, the wind and air seem to be stabilizing" before the princess could answer Luffy properly, she was cut off by the sound of Nami speaking up.

"Yeah, we're reaching the climate area of Alabasta Island, seeing a Sea Cat come out of the water is proof as well" she responded as she wandered away from Luffy and over to the navigator.

"And those things you see behind us over there is all the proof I need that we're getting close" Zoro piped up as he stood up, helping me up as well.

"That's a lot of ships, huh? Who are they?" Luffy asked as we all took note of the many ships that were sailing a little way behind us.

"They're all flying the Baroque Works symbol on their mast, this can't be good!" Usopp shuddered.

"It looks like all the Baroque Works employees have started gathering, I'm guessing that these are the Billions—they're the subordinates under the officer agents" Vivi explained.

"Which means there are about two-hundred enemies waiting for us" Nami sighed as she tightened her grip around the railing she was clutching.

"The best Baroque Works has to offer, the elite of the underlings, this group should be a lot better than the bounty hunters at Whisky Peak" Vivi added and as soon as they heard this, Usopp started to set up a cannon while Luffy carried over a cannonball to set inside. Though it seems an argument broke out between the two as they fought over what method to use to fight off these ships following behind us.

"Hold on though, I need to eat something first" Luffy held up a hand as his other one held his now growling stomach.

"Come on, they're not worth it, don't bother" Zoro waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"He's right, we need to keep our eyes on the prize or we might lose it altogether" Sanji added.

"Eight against two-hundred wouldn't be that much of a fair fight" I commented as I leaned against Zoro, resting my chin against his shoulder as I did so. This seemed to cause his body to tense up as his cheeks became dusted a light pink before he cleared his throat and now looked around in a nervous manner. Everyone else shared curious and questioning looks with one another before shrugging their shoulders.

-Later-

"I can tie this myself, you know?" I questioned as Zoro finished tightening the bandage around my arm.

"I just want to make sure it's tight enough so it won't accidentally fall off—I don't want to be tricked by the enemy" he reasoned.

"Zoro, let's be honest here" I said. "Even if I still had this thing on, you'd still be tricked if the person just flashed you, you pervert" I teased.

"I am not a pervert!" he snapped in embarrassment as I burst out laughing.

"Zoro, it's alright, every boy your age goes through a time in their life when they finally start to notice a woman's body" I cooed out, patting the top of his head and snickering at the venomous glare I was receiving. I soon yelped though and returned his glare when he suddenly tightened the bandage even more as it now almost felt like it was cutting off circulation. "What was that for?" I asked when he grumbled something.

"Nothing, now behave" he said, lightly swatting at my head as he straightened his posture. Smiling a little now down at me when I stuck my tongue out at him.

"What a good plan" Vivi complimented as she looked at the bandage wrapped around her arm.

"We'll always know who our friends are, just look for the bandage on their arm" Nami said as she patted her own bandaged arm.

"This Clone Clone Fruit guy, so is he that similar when he turns into someone else?" Sanji asked.

"You have no idea, it's the same, not similar, and it was crazy" Usopp told him. "Really, you should have seen it, Sanji, he changed into every one of us—even Nami—and then we got to dance with him" he explained.

"Oh, Sanji, you would have absolutely loved it when he turned into Nami" I snickered as Zoro gave a loud snort.

"Wouldn't that have been a sight to see" the swordsman commented.

"I'm not really interested in dancing with a male ballerina" Sanji blew out a puff of smoke as he said this, not really catching on in what Zoro and I were saying.

"We know that someone with his power is among the enemy, so we need to be really careful and be on our guard at all times" Zoro stated.

"So, what can I do to help against this guy?" Chopper suddenly asked.

"Just do whatever it is that you can do, you're not expected to do anything more, and if you get overwhelmed then just run" Usopp responded.

"Sounds like the pep talk he's always giving himself" Sanji muttered.

"Yeah, but it's good advice in its own strange way, for a few of us that is" I said.

"For a few of us?" Nami questioned as she raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means just exactly what it sounds like" I answered, innocently smiling at her.

"Whatever it is I can do, I got it" Chopper muttered to himself as he stared up at the long-nosed pirate.

"I can see the island now!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed.

"Let's stop at a town called Nanohana, we have to hide the ship" Vivi said.

"Okay, no matter what happens on that island, remember, this thing on all of our arms is a sign of our friendship" Luffy said as he held his arm with the bandage wrapped around it out which caused us all to follow in suit. "Now let's land, okay? Then eat—oh, and help Vivi" he said, quick to add that last part as if he had forgotten that that was the main reason we had come here to begin with.

"That's a side note?!" we all loudly questioned. I playfully bumped my hip with Zoro's after everyone had wandered off to some part of the deck while Nami busied herself with going over some important things with the captain. I soon yelped though when he roughly bumped me back in return and almost caused me to lose balance.

"I barely tapped you" he said, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"If that's what you call a tap, I'm afraid to know what you identify as a tackle" I said, straightening my posture and crossing my arms as I looked up at him with a stern face.

"That expression of yours looks more cute than scary" he teased—my expression didn't falter even as I felt my cheeks start to heat up in embarrassment. Moving my hips further out to the side, I swung them back and smashed them against his own as hard as I could. He seemed to have been taken by surprise as he stumbled to the side, quick to grab my shoulder and yank me towards him as he straightened his balance. Quietly we both looked at one another for a split second before quickly pulling away from each other and giving nervous laughs as we both apologized.

-Everyone's P.O.V-

Nami's attention had been drawn away from Luffy shortly after she finished discussing all the important aspects that she needed to go over. Now it was no longer directed on the captain, but instead directed towards the two nervously laughing sword fighters. Their faces were stained red as they looked away from one another and scratched at the back of their heads in embarrassment. She hummed, a sly smirk spreading across her face as she took note of their postures. Clearly, they both had something that they were obviously denying or too embarrassed to say to one another.

Crewmates don't usually talk to one another the way those two did, she wasn't dense, she had noticed the change in them fairly quickly after Skylar revealed she was a woman. Perhaps this was something she could tease the brunette with next time they were alone with one another. Perhaps she could dig out some information from the brunette as well.

-Time Skip-

-Skylar's P.O.V-

I watched as Nami and Vivi exchanged some words with one another, but I wasn't really too focused on what they were saying to each other to actually listen in on the conversation. No, instead I was more focused on the captain's loud groans as he laid sprawled out on the floor, chewing on one of his shoes.

"So, hungry!" he whined through his act of chewing up the shoe in his mouth.

"I've heard the saying "so, hungry I could eat a horse," but not the one that mentions anything about a shoe" I raised an eyebrow as I peered down at the raven-haired man.

"And hot!" Chopper started to whine as well, though I could excuse him seeing how he was stuck with all that fur that was normally meant for colder weather.

"So, this is an Alabasta city?" Usopp questioned as we drew closer to the island.

"Is there food?" Luffy weakly asked.

"Listen carefully, guys, I want you all to do your best to control yourselves while we're here" Nami said as we anchored the ship close to the island's shoreline.

"Of course, Nami!" Sanji happily obliged.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

"You do realize that the one that needs to hear that warning the most has already abandoned ship?" Zoro pointed out, motioning towards the straw hat wearing captain that was currently running off towards the direction of the city.

"Need meat now!" Luffy shouted the further away he got.

"Get back here!" Nami irritably snapped.

"I think he's too far gone to hear you, amazed he actually had the energy to run all the way to the city considering how "weak" of "hunger" he was earlier" I said, standing up on my tippy toes to watch as his figure got smaller the further it moved away from us.

"Of course, food is his greatest energy source it seems and besides, he doesn't know the meaning of control" Usopp stated as he leaned against the railing.

"What now?" Vivi asked.

"He's easy to find, just look for the area with the most commotion—that's where he'll be" Sanji explained.

"He's right" Usopp and I agreed.

"Ugh! I at least wished he would remember that he has a bounty on that rubbery head of his!" Nami groaned as she grabbed her head in frustration. "Especially since we're in a big country like this" she added.

"Forget about Luffy, he can take care of himself, now let's go find some food—we can get to work after that" Zoro said, suddenly scooping me up before starting to descend down the ladder to get on dry land.

"E-excuse me, but I can get down by myself!" I sputtered out, blushing.

"You're excused" he responded before sitting me back down.

"Alright, smartass, now you listen here" I laughed, not really able to take myself seriously as he gave a joyous laugh in return.

"I'd give up on trying to be intimidating, you're like a kitten" he chuckled as he placed a hand on the top of my head and ruffled my hair.

"Cute" I heard the other two women of the group giggle as they stared down at us.

"Anyways, I must warn you, Carue and I can't go with you" Vivi said as she peered down at us from the ship once the others had gotten down from it.

"Not up to it?" Usopp questioned.

"No, we would be too recognizable" she explained.

"Makes sense" Zoro nodded.

"No worries, I'll take care of all of your shopping, Vivi my love!" Sanji quickly offered, a goofy smile adorning his face. It faltered though when Carue suddenly started to quack up a storm.

"What's wrong, Carue?" Vivi inquired as the duck hopped up and down, pointing one of his wings in a certain direction. "It's Mr. Three's ship!" the princess gasped as we all now spotted a strange-looking ship.

"Mr. Three?" I questioned.

"That's right, you were passed out during that time" Usopp said in realization. "It was back at Little Garden."

"Alright, does he also happen to have any Devil Fruit powers I should be aware of?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I thought we had taken care of that creep for good already" Usopp muttered as he nodded his head.

"I'm certain it's him" Vivi nodded. "That ship couldn't even run without Mr. Three's Wax Wax Fruit powers" she pointed out.

"Wax Wax Fruit? Is that the name of his Devil Fruit?" I curiously inquired.

"That's right" the princess responded with another nod of her head.

"I can't believe that bastard's here" Sanji growled.

"This isn't good because he's seen most of our faces" Zoro pointed out.

"That may be true, but Usopp here has a plan and it's all going to be alright" Usopp piped up with a wide grin.

-Later-

Sanji, Chopper—in his deer form—and I followed behind the others who were all gathered up underneath a large blanket which earned us a few bewildered stares.

"This isn't suspicious looking at all" I sarcastically muttered with the roll of my eyes.

"Yep, a great plan this is" Sanji muttered right back as he blew out a puff of smoke. It was quite uncomfortable being able to see the confused and curious stares everyone was giving us, in fact, it almost made me want to crawl underneath that blanket as well. But, I feel that would have only earned us even more stares. The moment we had reached the outskirts of the city and took refuge behind a deteriorating wall, I couldn't help but sigh in utter relief at finally being away from those prying eyes.

"Looks like it's safe to come out, guys" Usopp stated as he peeked out from underneath the blanket.

"Thanks, we figured that one out" Zoro irritably growled as he threw the blanket off and crossed his arms.

"Looks like my ingenious disguise worked like a charm" Usopp proudly praised himself.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's what it was" Nami sarcastically agreed.

"Well then, it looks like you should be safe from prying eyes for a while, my dear" Sanji cooed at the princess who was peering downwards with a sadden expression. "Hello, there?" he questioned when he didn't receive a response right away.

"Ah, yes, Sanji—what were you saying?" Vivi quickly asked as she snapped out of whatever daze she was in.

"What is it, Vivi?" Sanji questioned. "Something wrong?"

"Is there something on your mind?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry for that, but I'm just really relieved now, nothing else" Vivi admitted. "From what I've seen so far, I know that at least this town is doing alright" she closed her eyes and finally gave a sigh of relief as whatever tension she had built up now seemed to relax a little. "I can't exactly start resting easy, but it's a good sign" she breathed out as her lips quivered and tears suddenly started to prick at the corners of her eyes.

"It does seem that this place is a really peaceful town" Nami commented.

"Vivi, you did say you had a plan in stopping the Rebel Army, didn't you?" Zoro questioned. "Well, what are you going to do? What do we need to do to help?" he pressed on. "If you really want to stop this thing before it starts, it's better to act quickly."

"Well, I agree with that, but the only agreement I made was for you to bring me here to Alabasta" Vivi stated, quick to brush off the offer of help.

"Quit it, are you still thinking like that?" Nami frowned as she hit the back of the princess' head.

"Nami!" Vivi lightly whined as she rubbed at the bump that was now forming on the back of her head.

"We traveled this far together, after all, we're not going to run away and leave you now" Nami huffed.

"She's right, we're here, so we might as well help—it'd be kind of shitty of us to just up and leave right now after everything" I said with a shrug and slight smile. "Plus, you're our friend, and it's obvious that this certain group of pirates aren't really ones to just abandon their friends."

"Yeah, Skylar's right about that" Usopp nodded. "Vivi, come on, you're practically one of us now" he added.

"And I want to see this Warlord of the Sea" Zoro suddenly stated, earning a glare from Nami as I jabbed my elbow into his side.

"You didn't need to bring that up!" Nami hissed. "Now listen, we're not going to abandon you" she sternly said, turning her attention back towards the princess.

"They're trying to kill us too, well everyone except for me" Sanji commented with a sly grin.

"Yeah but..." Vivi trailed off as she looked between all of us.

"It's settled then" Sanji clapped his hands together as he smiled.

"Besides, if this country gets destroyed, then we'll be at a big reward for returning you here in the first place, you understand?" Nami asked as the tone of her voice was now serious and completely different from before.

"Um...yes" Vivi nervously nodded.

"You're such a good friend" Zoro grumbled.

"Clearly the best friend any girl would be proud to have by their side" I sarcastically muttered as I sweat dropped.

"Thanks, you two" Nami innocently smiled. "Oh, and I haven't forgotten about your debt to me either, Zoro" she cooed out towards the swordsman as I raised an eyebrow.

"You!" Zoro growled as his body tensed up.

"Even as a ghost, I'd still haunt you for my money" Nami giggled.

"You lousy..." he sneered.

"You better pay me that 400,000 beli."

"What?! It went up?!"

"And it will go up even higher if you don't pay me quickly."

"Debt? What's this about a debt?" I piped up, generously curious to know the story behind this. Zoro wasn't the greatest with money, but I wouldn't have expected him to wind himself up in debt so early in his life.

"Oh, well it's quite an interesting story" Nami said, turning towards me and brushing off the angry swordsman that was glaring holes into her back. I listened closely as she gave me a brief rundown of what exactly happened to cause Zoro to owe her so much money.

"Remind me never to borrow money from you" I said as she finished her tale which earned me a giggle from the ginger haired woman.

"Usopp, do you think you can talk some sense into this woman for me?" Zoro suddenly asked of the long-nosed pirate as he was quick to remove his glare from the navigator and turn to face the sharpshooter beside him.

"Thank you" Vivi breathed out.

"No" Usopp refused.

"Nami's right about this" Sanji was quick to side with Nami, which wasn't much of a surprise.

"What?!" Zoro snapped.

"I mean, it was pretty dumb of you to borrow money from someone like Nami" I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Not you as well!" he frowned.

"Was that an insult?" Nami inquired.

"N-no, I'm just saying that he had to have known you long enough by that time, so he should have expected something like this" I was quick to explain, holding up my hands in defense as Nami hummed in thought.

"Alright, you're off the hook this time" she responded which caused me to sigh in relief.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

"You claim not to be a pervert, but then turn around and do stuff like this" I muttered as I leaned back against Zoro's chest, stuck on his lap. My attention had been drawn elsewhere while the others conversed with themselves, Sanji and Chopper having long since gone off to get some supplies that Vivi asked for which left me and the swordsman to ourselves.

"Because I'm not a pervert, and what's wrong with wanting to hold something soft?!" Zoro embarrassingly snapped, mumbling the last part as I snorted.

"Sure, you're not" I chuckled as he lightly hit my back in response. "I can't complain though, you're also very comfy to sit on."

"Oh yeah?" he questioned as he peered down at me as I sunk further down so that he could rest his chin on the top of my head. "Doesn't this feel weird though?" he suddenly asked as if the thought had just now crossed his mind.

"Weird how?" I questioned as I furrowed my brows. He didn't answer right away, instead, he just stared down at me—his eyes glazed over in thought before finally, he shook his head.

"Nothing" he muttered, looking elsewhere as he lightly wrapped an arm around my waist. ' _Tell him, idiot_ ' I scolded myself for such a rash thought—tell him what exactly? What could I possibly say without it sounding awkward or strange, especially if there was a chance he didn't really remember? I still don't know how one would approach a childhood friend that they haven't seen in over five years and haven't had any contact with at all either. Just hanging around him though has started to stir all those old feelings back up and just makes me feel all warm inside.

Perhaps I can wait a little while longer, maybe even casually mention it when I feel like the time is right...if I have the courage to do such a thing that is. Breathing in deeply, I silently agreed to this "reasonable" decision of mine, only to regret such an action soon after as the scent of perfume suddenly assaulted my nostrils. Was someone wearing perfume? My nose started to twitch before I gave a small sneeze.

"What's that smell?" Nami curiously asked.

"Nanohana is famous for selling perfume, but the perfume itself is made at an oasis" Vivi explained as I quietly groaned, covering my mouth and nose with my elbow as I sneezed again.

"Is something wrong?" Nami asked, directing her attention towards me.

"Nothing you need to worry about" I groaned with a dismissive wave of my hand. Hopefully, we'll be out of this city soon and away from this smell. I looked back up at Zoro to see if he had anything to say about this sudden smell before deadpanning as I saw that he had now fallen asleep, though his grip on my waist didn't seem to let up at all. I won't lie though, he has the right idea in taking a nap at this very moment. It sounded a lot better than just sitting here and having my senses attacked by perfume—but with this heat, it doesn't sound all that pleasing either.

-Everyone's P.O.V-

"It's strange, the way those two act with each other" Nami whispered to Usopp and Vivi as the three of them now eyed the sleeping swordsman and the brunette who was staring up at him with a small smile.

"It may be strange, but it also seems quite adorable" Vivi noted. "It actually reminds me of two lovers that have known each other for a long time" she quietly giggled.

"I don't see Zoro feeling "love" for anyone or anything other than his swords and booze, maybe he's sick" Usopp butted in, not really able to imagine the moss haired man taking a romantic interest in anyone.

"I think Vivi's right, I think it would be cute to see them hook up" Nami said, quick to disagree with the long-nosed pirate. "Perhaps Zoro will stop being a hardass all the time if they did" she added.

"I don't know" Usopp muttered.

"You want to bet on it?" the ginger haired woman suddenly asked as she innocently smiled.

"Betting with you? No way am I that stupid" Usopp sweat dropped.

-Skylar's P.O.V-

"Hey" I called out over to Usopp, Nami, and Vivi the moment I saw that they all were looking over this way. I watched as the three of them jumped in surprise at having been caught, all of them now quick to avert their gazes elsewhere. "What are you guys whispering about over there?"

"Nothing important, just wondering when Sanji and Chopper will be back" Nami quickly answered, waving me off with a nervous smile which caused me to raise an eyebrow before shrugging my shoulders.

"Alright, if you say so" I nodded my head before turning my attention back to quietly examining the sleeping swordsman's face.

-Later-

"Wow, these are beautiful!" Nami awed as she admired the outfit Sanji had brought back for us women. "Hey, Skylar, come on out—I want to see how it looks on you."

"Do I have to?" I asked from behind the wall I had taken shelter behind to change.

"Yes."

"But, do I really have to?"

"Skylar" by her tone, I figured she wasn't about to let me push it any further. Slowly peeking out from behind the wall, I stared straight into her brown eyes with my own blue ones.

"Nami" I wildly smiled, flinching when I saw her suddenly take a step forward towards me. "Alright, alright, I get the picture" I held my hands up in defense and finally stepped out from behind the wall. The clothes were embarrassing, they were nothing more than a small belly shirt that barely supported my chest, a thin piece of cloth draped over my shoulders, and a long skirt that reached down to the ground. "I hate this" I firmly admitted.

"Really? I think you look lovely in it" Nami smirked as she looked me up and down before flickering her gaze elsewhere. "Don't you agree, Zoro?" she asked as her smirk only grew.

"D-don't bring him into this!" I sputtered out, my face now exploding with a warmth that wasn't caused by the blazing sun over us.

"Hm? Yeah, she looks adorable" Zoro agreed, a wide grin spreading across his face as his eyes now scanned my body up and down.

"You can agree, just don't be a pervert about it! You're giving Sanji a run for his money!" I embarrassingly cried out, quick to raise my hands and put them over my chest. Though, despite my embarrassment, I couldn't help the way my lips tugged up into a wide smile when I saw how irritated he became upon hearing those words. It's quite fun to just mess with him every now and then.

"Although, I think you should put your hair up—would make it look even better" Nami wandered over towards me and grabbed hold of my hair, lightly yanking it and causing my head to tilt back some.

"No, I think it looks perfect just the way it is" Zoro suddenly interjected, mumbling something else that was inaudible. This caused Nami to raise an eyebrow before giving a sly smile as she shrugged her shoulders, seemingly deciding not to argue with the swordsman.

"Well, I know I asked you to pick out some clothes for us, but these are meant for dancer girls" Vivi said as she spoke with Sanji. Trying her best to stay calm instead of just scolding the blond for his actions.

"Oh, Vivi, you're a vision" Sanji cooed, his visible eye already turning into a heart.

"But commoners wouldn't wear this" the princess stated.

"I'm pretty sure that only dancers actually wear this, commoner or noble" I mumbled as I pulled at the thin piece of cloth that was draped across my shoulders. Watching as it lightly fluttered about with my movements.

"But aren't dancers common?" Sanji questioned.

"We're crossing a desert!" Vivi argued with the love-stricken cook.

"Don't worry, if you get tired, I'll just carry you" Sanji laughed as if he was a love-sick puppy that wasn't able to pick up on its owner's distress.

"Still think I'm putting the cook for a run of his money?" Zoro asked as I wandered over to stand beside his seated form.

"You may be right, but you're close" I teased, blushing as my stomach suddenly growled as if to remind me that I haven't really eaten much today. Casting a quick side glance down at the piece of meat the swordsman beside me was eating, I subconsciously licked my lips as my stomach growled once again. "Hey, Zoro?"

"Yeah?" the minute I had his attention I gently took hold of the wrist of his hand that was holding the piece of meat and brought it up. Quick to take small bites of the piece of food a few times before letting go of his wrist and patting the top of his head.

"Thank you" I chirped, about to walk off before yelping as he grabbed my arm and yanked me back so I was bent over him.

"If you wanted a bite, you could have just asked" he calmly breathed out into my ear which caused me to shiver. Drawing back a little, I gave him a gentle smile in return.

"But, it's more fun stealing a bite than asking for it" I responded back in that same breathy tone he had, quite pleased with the shudder I received in response.

"Now, let's look at you guys—compared to the lovely ladies, you look like sloppy bandits" Sanji insulted, a look of agitation now on his face once his gaze landed on Zoro and I. I had no doubt it was because the swordsman had his hands on me. Upon seeing such a look, a smirk seemed to cross Zoro's lips as he quickly yanked me down onto his lap and wrapped an arm around my waist in a protective manner as if wanting to piss Sanji off even more.

"You might want to look in a mirror" Zoro retorted back at the blond.

"Getting a bit handsy now, aren't you?" I questioned, poking at his arm.

"W-what? It's perfectly natural for crew members to be this close to one another" he quickly and weakly defended which caused me to chuckle.

"Sure it is" I smiled as he grumbled.

"Hey, Chopper, what are you doing?" Usopp asked once he saw that the reindeer was covering his nose. It was then that I noticed that smell of perfume once again in the air that it caused my nostrils to burn as I sneezed.

"It's that smell" the reindeer whined while the sneeze attack I was having now was enough to make my eyes water as I desperately tried to cover my nose with my hands.

"You alright?" Zoro questioned as I shook my head.

"Oh yeah—where did you run off to?" Sanji suddenly asked as he looked at Chopper.

"Just somewhere" the reindeer responded.

"Is he not feeling well?" Nami worriedly questioned.

"I don't think Skylar is feeling well either" Zoro added as I wiped at my watering eyes and rubbed my now red nose.

"Yeah, it's just the perfume" Sanji reassured everyone. "Chopper can't stand it, what about you Skylar? Are you alright?" he asked, now becoming concerned for my sake.

"Guess you could say that, just like Chopper, the perfume is getting to me as well" I sniffed. "I'm allergic to strong smells, large amounts of anything like that kills me" my voice was now coming out stuffy as I loudly sniffed once again.

"Perfume?" Nami questioned.

"Oh yeah, Tony has a very sensitive nose and it seems that Skylar does as well" Vivi commented.

"Yeah, no kidding" I muttered.

"This stuff?" Nami asked as she now smelled herself—had she put some on earlier without me noticing? Probably, I wouldn't doubt it if Sanji bought her or even the rest of us women that junk.

"Some of that stuff has a really strong smell" Vivi explained as I sneezed once again, my face flushing in embarrassment as I suddenly heard Zoro give a hearty laugh.

"Such an adorable sneeze" he purred right into my ear.

"S-shut up!" I embarrassingly cried out as he started to laugh again.

"Oh" Nami slyly smiled as she now started to spray some more perfume on herself. This only made the scent stronger which seemed to make my sneezing get worst as Chopper began to freak out at the sudden attack on his nose.

"Stop it!" I snapped as she gave a low, devious chuckle.

"You smell like a field of fresh flowers!" Sanji cooed out a compliment as he now admired the navigator.

"You're an idiot" Zoro grumbled, taking a drink from his alcohol as the blond growled in response to the insult.

"At any rate, at least we managed to gather all the supplies that we're going to need to cross the desert" Usopp was quick to intervene before a fight could break out between the two.

"Yeah" Vivi agreed.

"This oasis, you said it was called Yuba, right?" Nami asked, mentioning the oasis Vivi had talked about earlier.

"Yes, that's correct" Vivi nodded. "But first, we'll have to travel through the desert" she pointed out. "That trip will most likely be a lot more difficult than any of you can begin to imagine, there's no telling what might happen out there. One wrong step at any moment in a desert land like this one...there's no guarantee that we'll all survive—I'm still a little reluctant about asking you guys to follow me to such a dangerous place. But, more than anything, I want to bring peace back to the Alabasta Kingdom, so I guess...I guess I really don't have any other choice but to ask.

"Help me! Please help me bring peace back to my country, please help!" she seemed to beg.

"Well you finally said it, it's about time" Nami smiled after a moment of silence as she winked at the princess. I stood up with Zoro following in suit as he made sure to put his arm back around my waist and rest his chin on top of my head.

"There's no telling what might happen on the sea, but we're used to it, am I right?" Sanji asked as he looked around at everyone.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

"Yeah, just like any other day" Zoro agreed.

"Cool, I can't wait to see the desert" Chopper commented as Carue quaked in agreement.

"I have to somewhat agree with that" I hummed. "I know it's going to be extremely hot, but I'm also curious to see the different animals that live in the desert" I muttered to myself in slight excitement at the prospect of seeing something new.

"Okay, you guys, are you all ready to head out for Yuba?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah!" we all cheered.

"Thanks" Vivi smiled as tears of happiness and relief started to pool around the corners of her eyes.

"Are we missing someone?" the long-nosed pirate suddenly asked after a moment or two of silence.

"I don't know, are we?" I asked right back, peering around all of us in search to see if someone was indeed missing.

"I mean, it feels like we are" he responded as we all now sat in thought before sudden realization struck us.

"Luffy!" we all loudly concluded at the same time.

"That idiot!" Nami growled in utter frustration at this realization that our captain was still missing.

-Later-

"Hm? Where did Chopper and Usopp wander off to?" I curiously questioned, looking around the busy streets of Nanohana after realizing that I didn't see either of the two nearby anymore. Though I soon sweat dropped when I finally did spot them, taking noticing in how they both were entranced as they listened to a man who was boasting about the "golden" apple that he was holding. Talking it up like it was something unique. Just as the two were close to buying the "golden" apple off of him, Nami harshly smacked them right upside the head.

"Idiots!" she sneered. "Really, what are you thinking?"

"Probably nothing" I mused aloud as Zoro and I wandered over towards them, the swordsman seemingly taking interest in the large curtain right beside the man's stand.

"If I were you, I wouldn't take his word for it" Zoro said, motioning to the "golden" apple the man was holding as he pulled the curtain back to reveal another man. One who seemed to be busy in painting a bunch of red apples yellow. Nami huffed at this, grabbing both Usopp and Chopper's ear as she walked away from the stand and dragged the two right behind her.

"Hey! Let go, Nami!" Usopp whined as he began to struggle, wincing at the sharp pain of being dragged by his ear. "What are you doing? Put us down this instant—this is harassment!" he babbled on which only caused the navigator to become even more irritated as she began to grind her teeth.

"You two need to quit wasting time and help look for Luffy with the rest of us!" she grounded out. "We're done shopping here, so as soon as we find the idiot, we can leave" she seemed to lecture as she ignored the still babbling sharpshooter.

"Okay, where would Luffy be?" Zoro asked. "He's got to be around here somewhere" he muttered as he looked around the crowded streets for any signs of our captain.

"If I had to gander where he was, I would guess it'd be somewhere that has lots of food" I said. "So, food stands and restaurants are our best bet at the moment" I suggested, earning a nod and a smile from the swordsman.

"Sounds like a reasonable guess" he agreed.

"Shut up, you two!" our attention was dragged away from one another and back towards Nami who had suddenly snapped. Her shoulders were rising and lowering quickly as she heavily breathed in agitation. Harshly glaring down at Usopp and Chopper who were now sprawled out on the ground. I tilted my head, looking up at Zoro to make a comment before stopping as I noticed that his attention had now been drawn elsewhere.

"Was that…" he muttered, eyebrows furrowed in thought before a gasp suddenly escaped past his lips.

"Eh? Is something a matter?" I asked, letting my gaze travel over to the direction he had been looking in only to spot a man. He seemed to be busy exchanging small talk with the owner of the stand he was standing in front of, holding up a wanted poster while seemingly asking about our captain, Luffy.

"Who's that?" Chopper curiously piped up. "He sure looks like he would be really strong" he noted as everyone else's attention had also been drawn towards the guy. I wouldn't argue with the reindeer seeing how the man lacked a shirt, so it was quite easy to see his muscles as well as the strange tattoo that took up most of his back. The more I looked at him, the more I felt like I had seen him before. Not in person, of course, but more like I've seen a picture of him.

"And why do you think he's asking for Luffy?" Usopp shakily asked.

"Maybe he's a bounty hunter" Nami suggested.

"He's not, I'm sure of it" Zoro butted in. "The mark on his back."

"Huh?" we all looked towards him

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.

"I used to hunt pirates, there's no way I wouldn't recognize it" he said as if he was confirming something to himself. ' _He used to hunt pirates?_ ' I owlishly blinked my eyes as I slowly absorbed this new information. Then again, I guess everyone's got to make a living somehow, but it now makes me wonder how he went from hunting pirates to becoming one. "Huh? Oh no" he suddenly breathed out, his attention now directed elsewhere once again. Curiously following his gaze, I soon spotted a woman who was busy negotiating with a stand owner about something.

Normally, I would have been confused by Zoro suddenly becoming tense upon seeing some random woman if it wasn't for this particular woman's appearance. Just by looking at her, it was clear that she looked so much like…Kuina. It's not that I hated Kuina, it was more like I was jealous of her which is embarrassing whenever I think back on it now. Her and Zoro never had any romantic feelings towards one another, but that never stopped me from getting jealous at the attention he gave her or the way he constantly talked about her.

"Is that her?" Zoro nervously asked himself as he watched the woman start to angrily yell at the stand owner. "Damn, yeah, it's her—I can't believe it, what's that woman doing here?" he quietly ground out before roughly pushing me aside so he could jump behind some crates the moment he saw that the woman was starting to turn around. I didn't react at first, never taking my eyes off the woman as they now glazed over with past memories. Kuina was indeed a nice person the few times I spoke with her, though she did come off a bit cocky and overconfident most of the time. Our interactions with one another were scarce though as we only truly ever saw each other when I would stop by the dojo to watch Zoro.

"Hey, Zoro, what are you doing?" I was snapped out of my thoughts upon hearing Nami's question. Watching as she curiously stared towards where Zoro was hiding, clearly confused by his actions.

"Why are you hiding over there?" Usopp joined in, also curiously staring after him.

"Zoro, is it because of that woman?" I hesitantly asked, afraid to know if that truly was the reason. Certainly, I shouldn't feel jealous over some random woman just because she looks like an old childhood friend of Zoro's...but still. Before I could dwell on it, I was taken aback when I suddenly spotted Marine Captain Smoker. He was a well-praised man that was highly talked about a lot in my village and it seems this time with his appearance, it caused the others to start hiding along with Zoro. Now this made far more sense than just Zoro hiding because of some random woman.

"That's Captain Smoker, he's the Marine that caused us a lot of trouble in Loguetown" I heard Nami whisper as I silently watched the white haired man begin to speak with the woman. Was she also a part of the Marines? Or was she just a friend of Smoker's? I couldn't help but now ponder about why the boys back on the island looked up to Smoker, wondering just what made him different from the other Marine Captains. Even Cloud seemed to look up to the man a little, pushing himself to study and train so he could be able to join the Marines.

It was futile for many reasons though and he knew that. He only wanted to attempt it out of spite though, not because he truly did want to become a Marine. I didn't blame him, at least we got to learn and do things of our own free will when he was going through that short phase of training and studying instead of being forced to learn that stuff like before.

"You mean...you think he and his Marines followed us all the way from Loguetown?" Usopp asked, voice starting out loud in the beginning before he caught himself and lowered it near the end.

"He must have really been determined to catch you guys" I bitterly joked, eyes narrowed as I shifted around on my feet. Even after all these years, I still feel jealousy towards that girl, how silly.

"Seems to be the case, with him and that mystery man, things could start to get pretty ugly around here—come on Luffy, show up" Zoro muttered before he suddenly clenched his jaw as his eyes widened.

"Skylar, what are you doing?!" Nami frantically asked.

"Yeah, get over here before he sees you!" Usopp quietly cried out.

"Why?" I tilted my head, looking back at the group. Their bodies tensed up as sweat began to pour down their faces.

"Why? What do you mean, why?!" Nami hissed. "If he sees you, he'll give chase!"

"Why would he do that?" I raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't a part of your guys' crew when you were in Loguetown, so he doesn't even know who I am" I pointed out, smirking a little at the looks of realizations that dawned upon their faces.

-Later-

When we returned to the place we had been hiding out in, Sanji, Vivi, and Carue were there to greet us. All three of them had decided to stay behind to simply keep watch and see if Luffy happened to run through that area while we were all walking around looking for him.

"This doesn't look good; we could be in serious trouble if we don't get out of here soon" Usopp whimpered.

"Skylar?" I hummed the moment Nami placed a hand on my shoulder. Looking back at her, I raised an eyebrow upon seeing the worried look she was giving me. "You seem a bit distracted and quieter than usual, is something a matter?"

"No, everything's fine—thank you for asking though" I gave her a bright smile as I pushed my bitter thoughts to the side and cast a quick glance towards Zoro. I took notice in how his eyes were now trained on the two of us, he actually looked as if he was worried as well. My heart fluttered at this, but at the same time, my stubborn side was telling me to give him the cold shoulder. I knew that would be wrong and instead just chose to keep some distance between us. I wasn't mad at him, but more at myself for getting jealous so easily over such a small thing.

Was it because he could remember Kuina so well, while here he's forgotten about me? It made sense why he would remember Kuina though, they made a promise to one another before she died and Zoro was one to keep his promises. But it seems he would only keep it for her and no one else, perhaps that's why it stings so much seeing his reaction to that woman. It had to be her appearance that caused that…right? Or was I just overthinking everything?

"Trouble, why's that?" Sanji questioned, curious to know what Usopp meant by his earlier comment.

"Cause the Marines are here" Nami explained.

"Hey" I turned my attention towards Zoro who had slinked closer towards me, his voice now lowered so the others wouldn't hear. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes" I mentally scowled myself the minute my cheeks started to feel warm and my heart started twisting upon hearing the worry in his voice. He had such a nice voice.

"It isn't nice to lie, you know?" he frowned.

"I know" we stared at one another for a few minutes before he released a sigh and gently took hold of my hand. Rubbing the back of it with his thumb in what could be considered a comforting manner.

"You can always talk to me if something's wrong, you don't have to lie."

"I know."

"Marines?" Vivi repeated, taken aback by the news Nami had given.

"And also some mystery man" Chopper added.

"Let's just find Luffy as fast as possible and get out of town as soon as we can" Nami said.

"Hey, hide" Zoro suddenly piped up, pushing everyone behind a broken piece of the wall while also pressing me up against his chest as we all hid.

"Hey, what for?" Nami asked, taken aback by how rough the swordsman had been in pushing everyone out of sight.

"What was that?" Chopper questioned.

"Did you see something?" I inquired with the tilt of my head as I stared up at him while he peered around the broken wall.

"It's the Marines" he finally answered.

"Yeah and it seems they're excited about something" Usopp agreed the moment he heard the shouts that came from the men along with their running footsteps.

"I'm sure it's nothing, they're probably just chasing some idiot pirate who's running crazy around town" Sanji muttered as he leaned up against the wall. The silence that came afterward was cut short by the one thought that came to everyone's mind.

"Some idiot pirate?!" we all shouted, sweat dropping the moment we heard our captain scream along with his rushing footsteps. Indicating he was the one running away from the Marines. "It's Luffy!"

"Oh, hey, Zoro" the captain smiled the second he spotted Zoro peeking out from behind the broken-down wall. This seemed to cause Zoro to tense up as his grip on me tightened and he raised one hand, motioning for the raven-haired man to stop. "Oh, so that's where you guys have been" the rubber man said, ignoring Zoro's hand motion and instead decided to come running towards us with the Marines still chasing after him.

"No! You moron! Get rid of them first!" the swordsman shouted.

"Well, they're coming—what do we do now?" Usopp asked.

"Not stay here that's for certain" I answered.

"She's right, we need to get going" Nami agreed.

"To the ship!" Vivi ordered.

"Don't just stand there, we got to go!" Luffy shouted as he ran right past us.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

"Hold on" Zoro said before lifting me up off the ground and laying me over across his shoulder.

"W-what?" I sputtered out, cheeks flaring up in embarrassment the moment I felt him rest his hand on the lower part of my back and near my bottom. Once I was adjusted comfortably onto his shoulder, he started to run along with everyone else. "I can run on my own!" I exclaimed, only earning a laugh in response as if I had just told him a joke. Quietly I huffed, crossing my arms as I now watched how the Marines gave chase while a cloud of smoke weaved its way through them before finally morphing into Smoker.

"Not good, here he comes! Not good!" Luffy loudly whined as he picked up speed. Loudly repeating the words "not good" over and over in the process. The only sounds that seemed to fill the air at the moment were his screams and everyone's running footsteps. But suddenly everything stopped as looks of shock crossed all of our facial features upon seeing the sight before us.

"You again!" Smoker grounded out.

"Just give it up" the mystery man from before said having suddenly appeared between the Marines and us. "While you may have the power of smoke, mine is fire" he stated, the tips of his fingers now engulfed in flames. "A fight between the two of us would be pointless, it would probably go on forever."

"Alright, looks like mystery man has Devil Fruit powers" Zoro pointed out.

"Geez, I wonder what gave that away" I sarcastically said, snorting at the hit I received on my lower back.

"Your sarcasm is not needed" he responded, though the smile on his lips gave away that my response had amused him.

"Who is this guy anyway, and why is he helping us?" Usopp inquired.

"That you, Ace?" Luffy suddenly spoke up as my eyes slowly widen. I hit a balled-up fist on the palm of my hand as I now remembered the many wanted posters and news articles based around this particular man. Portgas D. Ace was his name and he was a well-known member of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy" Ace said as he looked away from Smoker to look back at our group.

"Is it you, really?" Luffy asked. "Whoa, did you eat a Devil Fruit or something?"

"Yeah, the Flame Flame fruit" Ace nodded. "Anyways, now's not the time for chatting, you guys got to get out of here—I'll catch up" he told us while simply shooing us away with his hand. "Don't worry about these guys, I got them, go on."

"Let's go!" Luffy ordered after giving the other pirate a firm nod, already was he starting to run again.

"Yeah, coming" Usopp agreed.

"But, Luffy" Nami soon called out as we all followed after him.

"Who is that guy back there?" Sanji asked, speaking the question that all of us were clearly thinking.

"When are you planning on putting me down?" I muttered so only Zoro heard. Being carried on someone's shoulder while they were running wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world.

"When we get to the ship, now shush" Zoro muttered back which caused me to grumble a little as I complied, understanding his curiosity to hear Luffy's answer as I was also curious to know who that man was to Luffy as well.

"Hold up, Luffy—tell us who that guy is!" Nami seemed to demand when the rubber man didn't answer Sanji right away and instead left us all in what most would consider suspense.

"Do you know him from somewhere?" Vivi inquired.

"Yeah, he's my big brother" Luffy finally responded, laughing at the shock expressions he received.

"Brother?!" everyone shouted as I now quietly mulled over this new information.

"This is both surprising and not really at the same time seeing how none of us really asked him if he had any relatives" I suddenly piped up.

"Well, yeah" Nami slowly nodded in agreement. "But, still..." she muttered.

"It's still strange to think he actually had an older sibling this whole time and never once talked about him" Usopp muttered.

"Do any of you go around talking about your siblings, if you have any that is?" I asked, turning my head to look at them while they ran. "That's what I thought" I muttered when everyone shook their heads in response. Just then, the ground suddenly seemed to shake as a loud explosion echoed through the air which was then followed by a billow of smoke and flames in the distance where Smoker and Ace were currently fighting.

"What's going on back there?" Chopper nervously asked

"Looks like a fight between smoke and fire" Usopp commented.

"Cool!" I awed at the sight.

"So, that's the kind of power you get after eating a Flame Flame Fruit" Sanji noted, earning a quack of agreement from Carue.

"Speaking of Devil Fruits—Luffy, is it true? Is that guy really your brother?" Nami asked as if wanting reassurance that the captain was telling the truth.

"Yep, his name's Ace" Luffy nodded his head.

"Look, I'm not surprised to hear you have a brother, Luffy" Zoro suddenly butted in. "But, what's he doing here on the Grand Line?" he asked as he slightly readjusted me on his shoulder.

"He's a pirate too, just like I am" Luffy answered. "He left home three years before I did to go search for the One Piece" he simply explained.

"That's great to know, but Zoro, could you maybe sit me down? This is getting really uncomfortable" I cut in which earned me a chuckle from the swordsman who only shook his head.

"Wha—hey!" Sanji snapped when he finally took notice that Zoro was carrying me. "Moss head, put the lady down! How dare you handle Skylar like that!" he angrily growled.

"Shut up, shitty cook!" Zoro frowned as he snapped right back.

"Enough you two, we don't have time for one your guys' spat!" Nami huffed, clearly not in the mood to deal with those two fighting right now. "Skylar, you're just going to have to hold out a little bit longer, thanks to Ace, he's bought us some time that we can't waste—we need to get back to the ship."

"Sure, Nami dear!" Sanji cooed as his anger quickly dissolved and was replaced with his normal love-struck expression the moment he heard the navigator's voice.

"Whoa, I never would have thought I'd run into my big brother in a place like this" Luffy smiled as he twisted his body around so he was running backward. Hand now placed on top of his hat to make sure it wouldn't fly off as he watched the smoke that was billowing up into the air.

"It's a small world, you're bound to run into people you've been away from for years" I piped up.

"Yeah, no kidding" I heard Zoro mumble, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Huh? I didn't say anything" he lied.

"Sure you didn't" I hummed out, putting my attention back on our captain who seemed engrossed in looking back.

"Which way do we go?" Usopp frantically asked when we suddenly came to a fork in the road.

"Left, Usopp! Everyone got that?" Nami asked.

"Uh...almost everyone" I sweat dropped as I watched Luffy take the right path instead of the left path like we all did. I'm actually amazed that Zoro didn't make the same mistake as well.

"Yes, Nami, I'll follow you wherever you go!" Sanji cooed.

"You love-sick freak!" Zoro snapped, as I heaved a sigh and let my head droop when I noticed that no one had heard me.

"You know what, you guys will figure it out later...hopefully" I muttered.

-Later-

"Get everything ready, we're taking off right away!" Nami ordered as the men scurried around the deck of the ship.

"Aye, aye! Set the sails!" Usopp commanded.

"But...it took us so long to finally get here and now we're leaving already? Vivi? Skylar?" Chopper questioned as he looked towards the princess and me as we both were busy pitching in on getting things ready.

"Yes, but remember, we only stopped here to get the supplies we're going to need for the rest of the journey and now that we have all of that, we're going to head upriver to our next destination—The City of Green, Erumalu" Vivi softly explained as I nodded my head.

"She's right, and besides, we couldn't stay here even if we wanted to since the Marines now know that we're here" I added.

"Right" Vivi nodded her head.

"Erumalu?" Chopper tilted his head to the side as he gave a confused expression.

"Hurry!" Zoro snapped at the other guys as they all raced around, getting everything ready so we could set off.

"I am!" Usopp sharply responded back.

"They still haven't noticed it yet, it seems" I sighed, catching Vivi's attention.

"Noticed what?" she curiously asked.

"Pick up the pace!" Sanji ordered as they were preparing the sails.

"Hm? Haven't you noticed?" I asked, turning my attention to the princess.

"No, what is it?" she asked, now furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Ready!" Usopp called out.

"Ready, set sail!" Nami ordered before halting everything as a look of realization dawned across her face.

"That we're missing someone" I said, lips twitching upwards as that same look of realization slowly started appearing on everyone's faces.

"Dammit!" Sanji hissed.

"Uh...guys" Chopper quietly spoke up.

"You know, I have the strangest feeling that we're forgetting something" Usopp nervously laughed.

"Yeah, so do I" the reindeer agreed.

"It's not something, it's someone" Nami groaned.

"Ugh, that stupid moron!" Zoro growled before snapping his attention towards me the moment I started laughing. Quickly I covered my mouth in an attempt to hold back my laughter and hide my smile as more attention was slowly put on me. "You knew, didn't you?!" he suddenly accused.

"What?! For how long?!" Nami snapped as she scrambled from her spot towards me and grabbed hold of my shoulders, harshly shaking my body around as I grasped at her wrists in an attempt to get her to stop.

"I've known for a while, I mean, I did try telling you guys earlier" I defended, nervously looking away from the intense glare the ginger haired woman was giving me before she loudly groaned and pushed me away. Tiredly did she pinch the bridge of her nose as she started lowly grumbling to herself.

-Later-

"Um...is it okay for a ship to set sail without its captain on board?" Chopper curiously asked.

"I guess, there's really no law against it and it's not like we're just leaving Luffy behind forever" I shrugged.

"The first place the Marines are going to look for us is the harbor, so our top priority is to hide the ship" Nami simply explained.

"You still mad at me?" I asked, giving her an innocent smile the moment she looked at me with a deadpanned expression.

"Yes" was her blunt response as I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Fair enough" I chuckled.

"I know of a secret cove that's up ahead, we can anchor the ship there" Vivi piped up.

"Alright, so we lay low until things calm down a bit then go back and get Luffy" Sanji suggested as he leaned back against the railing.

"Good grief, that guy attracts trouble like a dead guy attracts vultures" Usopp muttered from his spot at the steering.

"Yeah, that's the only reliable thing our captain does" Zoro agreed as he suddenly snaked one of his arms around my waist and pulled me close into his side.

"Yes?" I curiously asked, cheeks becoming warm as I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Low mumbling could suddenly be heard coming from the others as they silently spoke to one another, seemingly keeping their eyes glued on us now out of curiosity. Zoro didn't seem to mind the attention as he instead just stared ahead, a smirk now tugging at his lips as he held back his laughter the longer I continued to stare at him. Before finally, I released a surprised squeal at the sudden feeling of him pinching my bottom. "Pervert!" I quietly cried out so only he heard while smacking him upside the head as his shoulders shook with held back laughter as if he thought what he did was funny.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Time seemed to pass by slowly as we all silently waited around, taking turns in watching out for our captain.

"Oh, I don't believe it, I found Luffy" Nami suddenly huffed.

"You sure?" Zoro asked.

"Why wouldn't she be?" I asked.

"Yeah, that stupid mug is defiantly his" Sanji grumbled, answering for the navigator. "Uh-oh."

"Hey, guys!" I winced as Luffy rocketed towards us, smashing headfirst into both Chopper and Sanji as he did so.

"Sanji, Tony, are you alright?" Vivi worriedly asked as she was the first one to rush to their side.

"Oh, Luffy's back" Usopp noticed.

"Yeah, the hard way" Zoro muttered as he rubbed his face in irritation.

"He certainly knows how to make quite the reappearance" I giggled as I gave Zoro's arm a comforting pat.

"Sorry about that guys, my bad" Luffy laughed, not really looking all that sorry.

"Yeah, you're sorry alright—the sorriest excuse for a captain that ever sailed the sea, you moron!" Sanji sneered as he harshly grabbed hold of the front of the captain's shirt and started to roughly shake him back and forth.

"Dammit! You have any idea how much trouble you put us in—can't you at least try and act like a captain sometimes?" Nami growled.

"Could he even actually be able to attempt something like that?" I asked. ' _Okay that was a bit mean, of course he could…at least I think so_ ' I frowned as I rubbed the back of my head.

"I'm sorry" Luffy apologized once again. "Oh, that's right, where's Ace?" he asked as he quickly stood up and ran over to the side of the ship so he could peer back out towards the land.

"Ace?" Sanji questioned.

"You were with your brother, huh?" Zoro guessed as he crossed his arms.

"Wait a minute, you didn't just leave him, did you?" Usopp asked.

"Um...sort of, but don't worry, Ace is really strong" Luffy smiled as he turned back to face us.

"So, how strong is he?" Chopper and I curiously asked.

"Well, let me put it like this, when we were younger I was never able to beat him in a fight and this was way back in the days before he ate the Flame Flame Fruit" Luffy answered. "That's how strong my big brother is."

"You mean there's a flesh and blood person you couldn't beat" Nami gaped.

"Big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster" Usopp shivered.

"Wow" I whistled. "That's pretty interesting to know that there is actually a person out there you can't beat."

"I guess so, cause Ace used to beat me up all the time, but I bet now I could kick his big butt" Luffy boasted.

"I'd like to see you try and back that claim up" Zoro said.

"A fight like that would be entertaining to watch no matter who the winner is" I laughed.

"So, exactly who's butt is getting kicked?" Ace asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere which surprised Luffy who was knocked back onto his bottom.

"Oh, Ace, this is my crew I was telling you about" Luffy said.

"Nice to meet you and thanks for taking care of my kid brother, I know he's a handful" Ace said as he tipped his hat towards all of us.

"Oh no, not at all" we all bowed, brushing aside the man's thanks.

"Come on, be honest, this is Luffy we're talking about" he said. "Isn't he a bit much for you to handle at times?" he asked.

"Not at all" we all shook our heads.

"You're good people" he smiled.

"Well, sit down and relax, I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do" Sanji said, as he got out a cigarette. "I'll make some tea."

"No, that's thoughtful, but I don't want to impose" Ace said as he lit up Sanji's cigarette just by the simple act of holding up one of his fingers. I couldn't help but whistle in amazement at this.

"He's not exactly what I expected" Sanji commented.

"I'll say" Zoro agreed.

"He's polite, helpful, and gracious—just the opposite of Luffy" Usopp breathed out.

"One of them only cares about stuffing his face, there's no way these two can be brothers" Nami said as she held her hands up to her chest.

"While the other only cares about his brother" Zoro added.

"Well, I mean, just because they're opposites doesn't mean they're not brothers" I piped up. "It just means that one's more mature than the other" I said, commenting on the statement Nami made earlier.

"True that" Nami snorted.

"I wish I had a wonderful brother like that" Chopper said as tears started streaming down his face.

"Brother? I wish I had a wonderful captain like that" Sanji commented.

"Sanji! He's kidding!" Vivi piped up, quick to try and nervously brush off the cook's comment.

"See, I told you they were interesting" Luffy laughed, a wide smile stretched across his face as he looked towards his brother. The further we sailed, the more we could spot new ships sailing our way, each one having the Baroque Works Jolly Roger on their sails.

"Baroque Works!" Vivi gasped. "Those are the Billions ships."

"Those guys again" Luffy frowned.

"Luffy, leave it to me, I'll handle them" Ace suddenly spoke up.

"He's going all by himself?" Nami questioned.

"And in that dinky boat too" Usopp added as he peered over the railing along with the others to watch Luffy's brother.

"Well Luffy did say he was strong, so I'm sure he can handle it" I said.

"Yeah, but still..." Nami mumbled, not once taking her eyes off Ace.

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you, they don't let just anyone become the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates" Zoro said, lightly bumping me with his hip as he walked up beside me.

"He jumped!" Nami gasped as we watched the raven-haired man jump off his boat and into the air. Flames soon erupting from his body and making quick work in burning down the Baroque Works ships.

"He roasted them!" Usopp awed as Luffy burst out into a fit of laughter.

-Later-

"Whoo! Time to celebrate, guys!" Luffy cheered, his voice loud enough to drown out whatever Usopp was saying.

"Cheers!" he, Chopper, and Usopp shouted as they all smashed their cups together.

"Wait, who said I was joining your crew?" Ace questioned from his spot on top of a nearby barrel.

"I believe they just did" I said.

"And to the delicious drinks!" Usopp cheered as the three once again smashed their cups together.

"Don't worry, you can't take anything they say seriously when they're like this—they get all goofy when they drink" Nami said, quick to wave off the three pirates that were loudly cheering.

"When can you take anyone that's drunk serious?" I asked.

"This isn't delicious, it's terrible!" our attention was drawn back towards the three as they started gagging at the taste of whatever they were drinking.

"Ace, you sure you don't want to join us?" Luffy asked. "It would be fun, I promise" he said through the mouthful of meat that he had been eating.

"I can't right now, I'm chasing someone" Ace shook his head as he refused his brother's offer. "He's a pirate named Blackbeard."

"Blackbeard?" Usopp questioned.

"We heard of him, he was the one that attacked Drum Kingdom" Vivi piped up.

"You see, Blackbeard used to be a member of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates" Ace began to explain. "He was one of my own men, but he committed the most unforgivable sin a pirate could, he killed one of his fellow crew members then he jumped ship" he continued. "As commander of his division, it's my responsibility to take care of him."


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

"So, that's why you're after him?" Usopp inquired.

"That makes sense" I said.

"I came here because I heard that Blackbeard was seen in Alabasta in a place called Yuba, so that's where I'm headed" Ace said before finally chugging down his own drink.

"Hey, that's our destination too, right?" Nami asked as she looked at the princess for conformation.

"Exactly, we just entered the Sandora River" Vivi nodded. "We'll take it to Erumalu where we'll dock and walk on foot until we reach Yuba here" she explained as she showed Nami the areas of the map she was pointing at. "The leader of the Rebel Army is there, that's where we're going."

"You don't say, you mind if I tag along?" Ace asked, looking at the map as well.

"Nami, Vivi, Skylar, I'll follow you wherever you tell me to go!" Sanji cooed as my ears perked up at the low growl that suddenly escaped past Zoro's lips the moment he heard this.

"Hopefully it's off a cliff" the swordsman muttered.

"What did you say, Zoro?!" Sanji snapped.

"Cool it you two!" Nami ordered, narrowing her eyes at the two of them to make it clear she wasn't in the mood to listen to them fight.

"Jealousy and anger isn't going to get us anywhere, Zoro" I teased.

"I'm not jealous" the swordsman huffed as he crossed his arms and looked to the side, a slight blush now spreading across his cheeks.

"Well, it looks like you'll be with us for a little while, Ace" Nami said.

"We're all happy to have you aboard!" Usopp exclaimed in excitement.

"Haha! This is going to be fun too, Ace!" Luffy laughed as everyone clinked their cups together.

"Cheers!" we all cheered.

-Later-

"Ahoy der maties, it is me, Captain Rice Ball Usopp" I raised an amused eyebrow as I watched Usopp move the rice ball he had his finger sticking through around. "And who might you be, huh?" he asked, looking up at Luffy's rice ball creation.

"I am Ricey the Rice Man" I couldn't help but hiss at the loud sound of both Luffy and Usopp's heads being struck from behind with a frying pan.

"Quit playing with our food, you damn numbskulls!" Sanji snapped, before owlishly blinking when I suddenly erupted with laughter. "My, Skylar, your laugh is so adorable!" he joyfully exclaimed as hearts now floated all around him.

"Uh...thanks, Sanji" I smiled, before coughing into my hand. "Don't you have two numbskulls to yell at?" I asked as I motioned back towards Luffy and Usopp

"Oh, right" he said, his smile falling as he looked back down at the two pirates. One was giving him their usual goofy smile and the other was giving a nervous laugh. "If you got free time, wash dishes! I could use some help since I still have to pack all the food for the hike to Yuba" he huffed out, hitting the two once more before turning away from them and walking back over towards the sink. Roughly yanking his sleeves up as he got to work on cleaning the dishes.

"Let me know if I can help" Ace suddenly spoke up from beside me.

"No, you're our guest—so just sit back and relax, thanks though" Sanji smiled as he waved off the man's offer. Stretching my arms upwards, I soon leaned forward and started poking at Luffy and Usopp's knocked out bodies.

"You really did a number on them" I muttered.

"Alright" Ace said before he directed his gaze towards me which caused me to look back at him and give a small smile as I shrugged my shoulders when he raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. My gaze soon wandered back over to Luffy and Usopp—I sweat dropped as I watched how they both now started cleaning some of the dishes with mop water instead of in the sink like a normal person would.

"Well, it looks like they took your advice in washing dishes, Sanji" I hummed.

"Huh? That's mop water, you idiots! We just swab the deck with it!" the blond snapped when he finally caught sight of what the two were doing. Shaking my head at the sight, I soon stood up and stretched my arms upwards while giving a content sigh before giving a small "bye" to Ace as I exited the kitchen and made my way out onto the deck where Zoro and Chopper were.

"Getting in some last-minute training, I see" I hummed as I watched him swing around his weights while the reindeer was sprawled out on the staircase so he could feel the wind that was coming off the swings. I can only imagine the hell he was currently going through in this heat.

"Oh, there you are" Zoro said, stopping for just a second which caused Chopper to whine in protest.

"Yeah, here I am" I said, taking a seat beside Chopper on the stairs as Zoro went back to his training which caused the reindeer to sigh in contentment as the rush of cool air returned. "I was just hanging out in the kitchen."

"With the cook?" he asked, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"Your jealousy is adorable" I laughed, causing his face to flush.

"I'm not jealous! What reason would I have for being jealous?!" he snapped.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" I tilted my head, heart now racing to hear what he had to say. Instead, I soon found my shoulders deflating as he embarrassingly mumbled to himself and quickly returned his focus on his training.

"What was that about?" Chopper suddenly piped up.

"Nothing you need to worry about" I sighed while brushing off his question. It wasn't long until we docked somewhere so Vivi could send Carue off with a letter that was to be delivered to the palace.

"Well, I did know that Crocodile was here in Alabasta, but him trying to steal the kingdom sounds like a bad joke because why would a pirate drop anchor in one spot and settle down?" Ace asked after getting the basic rundown of the current situation. "Crocodile trying to take the throne of Alabasta doesn't make sense" he said.

"Perhaps he's doing it because he'd rather be a king than a pirate" I suggested. "Then again, even that doesn't make much sense" I muttered, leaning over the railing to peer down at the others that were on land.

"Alright! Let's set sail!" Luffy suddenly shouted, rushing back onto the ship after they were all finished with what they were doing.

"Hold on!" Usopp cried out as he desperately followed after the rubber man.

"You know, there could be another side to this taking over thing" Ace suddenly suggested.

"Huh?" Zoro questioned.

"Like some sort of deeper goal or something" was all he said before walking off.

"That's a better guess then what I was thinking" I sighed.

"How so?" Zoro asked, snaking one arm around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder as he leaned himself into my back.

"Why would a pirate wish to be a king when they have all the freedom they want out at sea?" I questioned. "The idea that Crocodile has some sort of goal makes more sense than just simply wanting to be king just to be king" I explained which earned me a nod and a hum from the swordsman.

-Later-

"We're finally here" Luffy smiled.

"Whoa! So we're finally going to the desert? Does anyone know how hot it's supposed to get?" Chopper asked.

"Over a hundred degrees in the daytime" Nami responded.

"Yeah, and below zero during the nighttime" I muttered underneath my breath as I straightened out my robes.

"What?! Please tell me you're joking!" the reindeer cried out after hearing Nami's answer.

"Nami, what happened? Where's your dancer outfit?" Sanji asked in distraught before his attention turned towards Vivi and me who were now lightly conversing with one another. "Ah! You too, Vivi, Skylar—why are you wearing that?" he desperately asked.

"Because any exposed skin will get sunburnt" Vivi explained. "You have to cover up in the desert."

"Besides, if we had gone out there in those dancer outfits, we would have been cooked alive" I said, placing my hands on my hips while Vivi winced at the thought as she nodded in agreement.

"But, those outfits were so sexy!" the blond whined as he was now rolling around on the floor. His pouting was simply ignored as everyone continued with what they were doing.

"Time to drop anchor" Zoro said.

"Right" Usopp nodded.

"Yuba, here we come!" Luffy cheered.

"Hm? What's a matter?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I noticed that Zoro was intensely staring down at the water.

"I thought I saw something" he muttered.

"Saw something? What was it?" I asked, walking up beside him to peer down at the water as well. It wasn't long before I also spotted movement of something that was swimming around underneath the surface of the water.

"What are those?" Zoro asked, before being taken aback as small critters suddenly shot out of the water and onto land where they struck a pose. "Turtles?" he questioned.

"No, I think they're seals" Luffy corrected.

"Those look nothing like seals" I butted in.

"How would you know? Have you ever seen a seal?" the rubber man asked.

"In pictures, but I said that for the fact that seals don't have shells" I deadpanned, motioning to the shells on the back of the animals' backs.

"Kung Fu Dugongs" Vivi suddenly piped up as one of the critters laughed.

"Aw! That sounded so cute" I cooed as my weak spot for adorable things came out.

"If you want to come to shore, you'll have to beat me first, but I doubt that will happen you bunch of cowards, he says" Chopper translated.

"That's cute, it's challenging us" I giggled.

"Heh, no one calls me a coward and gets away with it—here comes the pain!" Usopp exclaimed as he dived right off the ship.

"Usopp, no! Wait!" Vivi called out, wincing as the Dugongs beat up the long-nosed pirate in no time flat. "Dugongs are really strong."

"You don't say" I sweat dropped.

"See, they're not too tough" Luffy piped up, holding up one of the Dugongs that he had beaten up while more were knocked out around his feet.

"That's bad too!" Vivi cried out as I now scolded the captain for his harsh treatment of the animals. In a single minute, the Dugongs that were beaten up all abruptly stood up and bowed down before looking back up at Luffy—who had become confused by their actions—with shiny black eyes. "It's a rule, if they lose a kung fu match they become the winner's pupil!"


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

"You don't say" Zoro deadpanned as the Dugongs swarmed around Luffy.

"They think you're their master now" Vivi explained to the still confused rubber man.

"Right everyone, after me—now punch" Luffy ordered. "No like this, yeah, now harder and shift. Left, right, yeah!" he smiled as he punched his arms out and watched how the Dugongs copied him.

"I think it went to his head already" I pointed out.

"Of course, it has" Zoro scoffed.

"Right, all set, let's go to Yuba" Luffy said.

"Hey, wait a minute" the swordsman stopped him, eye twitching as he motioned at the crowd of Dugongs behind our captain. "You're not bringing them with us."

"Luffy, you can't!" Nami scowled as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Luffy, they're water creatures, they won't make it" Vivi explained.

"But, look at them, they're so cute—how could you say no to those faces?" I suddenly defended, squealing at the adorable sight of two of the Dugongs rubbing their heads against Luffy's legs while whining. It seems Nami and Vivi also found this adorable as well as they quickly huddled closer to each other and whispered about what to do.

"It's going to break my heart to say no to them, but we can't let them come along" Nami whispered.

"I agree, but how are we supposed to get them to stay?" Vivi pondered.

"I know" Chopper suddenly piped up as he rushed over to the supplies we had packed and started sniffing at the bags.

"What are you doing?" Sanji asked, clearly confused by the reindeer's actions.

"Are you looking for something?" I questioned.

"Here, all you guys can have this—but, only if you guys stay here, okay" Chopper soon said as he pulled out a rather large piece of meat. "Ah! Somebody, help!" he suddenly cried out when the Dugongs picked him up in their excitement upon seeing the food and started carrying him off.

"Chopper!" Usopp cried out. Soon after we got everything settled and said our goodbyes to the group of Dugongs that waved at us, we finally took off. I couldn't help but laugh as Sanji struck the back of Luffy's head with a frying pan the minute he saw the raven-haired man try to steal back some of the food from the Dugongs.

"Hope you all enjoy the food, bye!" Luffy waved as we traveled further away from the ship and the group of Dugongs.

"I'm going to miss them" I hummed out, intertwining my fingers with Zoro's as we now held hands. I smiled as he didn't protest, but instead, gave me a small smile in return.

"All you guys, food, now do you get it?" Nami asked as her head drooped downwards.

"No, they said they wanted to go with us, why couldn't we let them?" Luffy huffed.

"We don't have the food and water to take care of a group that big, moron" Nami stressed. "Honestly, I don't know what we would have done if Chopper didn't persuade them to stay."

"Yeah, they kept saying "where you go, we'll follow, master," and they really would have too if I hadn't given them that food" Chopper piped up.

"And now our food supply has gotten smaller, thanks Luffy, thanks!" Sanji irritably snapped.

"He's a handful" Ace commented from his spot right next to the blond.

"You're telling me" the blond muttered. The further we trudged through the desert, the more apparent it became in just how intense the heat was and it wasn't long before I soon found myself slipping my hand right out of Zoro's just to wipe the sweat off of it on my robe.

"You doing alright?" he mumbled, leaning closer towards me so the others wouldn't hear.

"Yeah, the sweat was just starting to make it uncomfortable in holding your hand" I responded, watching as he nodded his head. A comfortable silence soon fell over us as we stared ahead while walking before finally coming to a stop once we reached what appeared to be the remains of a city.

"What's this?" Sanji asked.

"Are we in Yuba already?" Luffy questioned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the surrounding area.

"No, this is Erumalu, it was known far and wide as The City of Green" Vivi answered.

"It was green?" Luffy frowned with the tilt of his head, looking around at the ruined city and taking note of how there was nothing green about it.

"Take a good look around everyone, this is what Baroque Works has been doing to my country—the people of Alabasta, this is what they had to go through" the princess said as she motioned to the ruined buildings around us that were buried in the sand. I frowned as I looked around, barely feeling the way Zoro once again slipped his hand in my own and started rubbing his thumb against the back of it. Almost in a comforting manner.

"Wow, there's nothing here at all anymore, is there? Huh?" the captain questioned.

"No, it's nothing more but a ghost town now" Vivi sighed. "But, up a few short years ago, it was a thriving city full of gardens, palm trees, and lush greenery" she explained as she lead us through the ruined city.

"I can only assume the people that once lived here were forced to move to other cities in the kingdom" I pondered aloud, earning a nod as Vivi sighed once again.

"This place..." Zoro muttered, kicking at a dying palm tree that shivered from the harsh contact.

"Rain was always scarce here, but by saving every drop of water and using it wisely, the city was able to make green flourish" Vivi told us as her eyes became downcast. "Unfortunately, that stopped when the rain did, not a single drop of water has fallen in this country for three years now."

"Three years?" Sanji echoed.

"Wow, that long!" Chopper gaped.

"But wait, even without rain, there's still the river—there's another water source" Zoro pointed out.

"He's right, rain isn't the only source of water this city had, right?" I asked, doubting that a city in the desert would have only relied on rain as their source for water.

"Yeah and it should be close by, why couldn't they pipe the water from there?" Usopp asked as he agreed with Zoro and me.

"The answer to that is just up ahead" Vivi answered, motioning for us all to continue following as Zoro and Usopp exchanged looks of confusion. "Even though it's a desert kingdom, never in a thousand years of Alabasta history has the rain ever completely stop. However, there's one place in the country the rain fell more than usual, much more in fact—Alubarna, the capital. The people of the land called it the king's miracle, at least they did until one particular day" she had gone straight into telling her story, quelling any confusion any one of us might have had.

"Dance Powder?" Nami questioned.

"Oh, so you've heard of it?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, I sure have, it summons rain" Nami explained.

"A powder can?" Chopper asked, tilting his head.

"I only heard stories about it, but apparently Dance Powder was created by a researcher in a country where it never rained" Nami said. "Burning it creates a mist of smoke which rises into the sky, once it reaches the clouds it causes them to rain, in other words, it gives you the ability to create rain on the spot" she explained in further detail.

"Oh! I've heard of it before as well" I said, hitting my fist against the palm of my hand as I now remembered what this stuff was we were currently talking about.

"You have?" Nami questioned as she raised an eyebrow. I gave her a blank stare, the sound of muffled voices resurfacing in the back of my mind.

_"Worthless brat, we've gone over this multiple times! The powder is banned—get that through your skull!"_

_"I-I know that! It's just…"_

_"Just what? That you're too stupid to understand something so simple as that!"_

I shook my head, quickly erasing the voices from my mind and smiled at the ginger haired woman who now stared at me with a concerned look.

"You alright, Skylar? You sort of spaced out there" she mumbled.

"Huh? Yeah, was just thinking" I said, my smile faltering for a minute.

"Oh!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, seemingly coming out of his own thoughts. Seems he had been lost in them while the current conversation had been going on. "I know what you're talking about, I've seen that stuff before! I ate some awhile back, it tasted pretty gross though, yuck!" he smiled.

"You ate Dance Powder?" Nami questioned, her attention directed towards our captain now and away from me. Looking at him, she heaved an irritated sigh as she now walked right past him.

"It's not food, it's for making rain" Zoro said as he passed by the captain as well, dragging me along with him as I heaved a sigh of relief from having the attention taken off of me.

"That was a stupid thing to do, Luffy" I commented.

"Hey, I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth—I did eat it and it tasted so gross!" the rubber man shouted as he started to angrily rant when he saw that no one was really believing him.

"Hold on, I don't get it, wouldn't that stuff be perfect for a desert country like this?" Usopp asked.

"You would think so, in fact, as its name suggest, the country that developed Dance Powder was happy enough to dance" Nami answered. "It got lots of rain and if there's a catch it's that neighboring countries had a drought, let me explain how it works. Now the mist from the Dance Powder targets small clouds that aren't ready to rain yet, it artificially matures them into full rain clouds—those rain clouds would have naturally grown into rain clouds, but when they were further downwind" she went on to explain.

"Oh, I get it, it steals rain that would have gone to a neighboring country...that must have caused some big problems" Usopp realized.

"Oh, it did, a war broke out between the two countries" Nami nodded. "Ever since then, the World Government has instituted a worldwide ban on the production and the possession of Dance Powder" she said.

"Even so, some of it showed up here, huh" the long-nosed pirate said.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

"When it happened, the country had been experiencing some strange weather, there had been no rain—not a single drop had fallen anywhere except one place and that was the capital" Vivi told us.

"Vivi, that would mean that your dad is the bad guy here!" Luffy cried out as he pointed an accusing finger at the princess.

"No, you idiot, he was framed!" Sanji snapped, assaulting the raven-haired man's head over and over with kicks. "Her sweet, dear old dad would never do something like that, you got it?!"

"Though that was a harsh way of getting that fact into his head, Sanji's right, I doubt Vivi would go through all this trouble if her father really had done something like that" I agreed.

"Of course, my father didn't have anything to do with it, he was innocent" Vivi firmly said, her shoulders soon slumping downwards. "Unfortunately, a large amount of Dance Powder was discovered inside the palace shortly thereafter."

"Huh? They even had people working inside the palace" Zoro commented.

"So, what is this? A road?" Sanji questioned as we finally came to a stop and now stared at the barren land in front of us.

"Why would we stop if it was just a road?" I asked.

"No, it's not a road" Vivi said with the shake of her head. "It used to be a large canal that piped in freshwater from the Pandora River until someone destroyed it, now do you see what happened? With its canal gone, The City of Green lost its only remaining water source of freshwater—the people waited and prayed, but sadly the rain never came" she frowned as my eyes now wandered around the surrounding area before finally spotting Chopper who was near an old well, appearing to be standing on the tips of his hoofs so he could stare down it. Holding his arm out, he dropped a pebble he had been holding and watched as it fell before there was a hollow echo from where it had hit the bottom.

"Wow, something like that and the Dance Powder incident really would make people distrust their king" Nami breathed out.

"No kidding, the worst thing that can ever happen to a country is when the people begin to distrust their king" I sighed.

"With no water, fighting began to break out in Erumalu and to escape the violence here, there was only one thing the exhausted citizens could do, they abandoned the city and left for the other oasis in hopes for water and then…" Vivi trailed off, her eyes downcast as she became lost in thought, "…The City of Green withered away" she finally finished. It grew silent after that as everyone now shifted around, not really knowing what to say before our attention was caught by the sound of howling as the wind started to pick up.

"What is it?" Nami asked.

"Sounds like a howling wolf" I noted while looking around.

"Is it the Rebel Army?" Chopper whimpered as his body started to shake.

"Or more of those creeps from Baroque Works?" Usopp shivered in fear, his now head whirling around in every direction as if trying to spot the source of the sound.

"No, it's just the wind" Ace said, unfazed by what was happening.

"Sounds like a voice, right?" Luffy asked.

"Huh, listening more closely it kind of does" I agreed. "But, I say it still sounds like a wolf howling" I hummed.

"Oh man, it's coming from all directions, this isn't good!" Usopp whined. "Ace, what are we going to do?!"

"There's no danger, it's just the wind blowing around the town and echoing off the old buildings" Ace simply explained. I squinted my eyes the moment they started to grow irritated the more the wind picked up, this time now blowing sand up towards our faces.

"It's like the city of Erumalu is wailing over what has happened to it" Vivi whispered.

"Watch out!" Nami suddenly cried, pointing towards the sandstorm that was being blown our way. Before I could react, I found my face soon pressed against Zoro's chest while his arms wrapped tightly around me as if he was using his own body as a shield to protect me. The sandstorm soon blew by as the strong winds caused everyone to cover their faces as hair and clothing were now vigorously being blown around. I could even hear mine and Zoro's swords rattle at our sides because of the strong winds.

"Whoa! What's the deal with that freaky wind?!" Usopp asked and it wasn't long before the storm finally passed and the harsh winds started to slow down.

"Hey, are you alright?" Zoro asked, pulling away and grabbing hold of my face with his hands. Worry in his eyes as he slowly began to move my head from side to side as if looking for any signs of damage. I laughed, removing his hands from my face and began ruffling my hair. Which helped in knocking out any of the specks of sand that had gotten caught in it.

"Yeah, I'm alright—what about you? Are you alright?" I asked. "You were quite quick to protect me there" I chuckled as a blush dusted over his cheeks and he coughed into his fist.

"Yes, well..." he coughed once again, mumbling the rest of what he was saying as if he was too embarrassed to really speak. It sounded like nothing but gibberish to me as I chuckled and lightly hit his shoulder.

"Well, whatever the reason, thank you, my knight in shining armor" I cooed, laughing as he now growled in embarrassment and swatted at me.

"Someone collapsed!" Nami suddenly gasped out as she pointed a little way ahead of us where a slumped over figure was sprawled out on the ground. Luffy was the first to react, racing on ahead to check up on the person.

"Wait, you mean there are still people living in this city!" Vivi gasped, taken aback as she quickly ran after Luffy with all of us quick to follow her. Tension soon grew as the air became thick when it was revealed that the hunched-over figure was nothing but a skull covered by a discarded robe. "What did my father and the other good people—what did they ever do?" the princess grounded out as she now grasped the skull and delicately held it in her hands. Body shaking in both sadness and anger. "They don't deserve this, it's hard enough to live in the desert—every day is a struggle just to survive.

"Somehow the people of Alabasta found a way to do it and they lived happy lives, but Crocodile destroyed those lives! What gives them the right to do that? What?! All the while as one of the Seven Warlords he's passed off as a hero to the people" she grounded out, her grip on the skull tightening. "They don't know what he's really doing—no one realizes that he's actually deceiving the entire country even as they cheer him on.

"I can't…I can't let him get away with this!" she sobbed, pressing the skull against her chest and cradling it closer. At some point Luffy had wandered off and away from us, anger just radiating off his person. I soon winced at the sound of one of the old, worn-out buildings crumbling due to the captain striking it out of anger.

"Oh well, hope that made him feel better" Zoro sighed as I hummed in agreement and watched as Ace helped the princess bury the skull underneath the sand. Sticking a stick at the top of the pile of sand to help represent a makeshift gravestone.

"Vivi, let's get moving, okay" Luffy popped his shoulder as he came back. "I'm itching to do this" he muttered, taking lead and walking on ahead of all of us.

"He's right, let's get to Yuba" Nami agreed.

"That's where the Rebel Army is, right? Yuba?" Zoro questioned as he slipped his hand into my own.

"Yes, but I must stop there—I'm going to persuade their leader" Vivi nodded her head as the swordsman raised an eyebrow upon hearing her plan.

"How so?" he asked.

"I'll tell the Rebel leader the truth, that all of this is Crocodile's doing and have him stop all this pointless bloodshed" she answered. I stared at her as more voices started popping up in the back of my mind.

_"What's the worst thing to happen to a country?"_

_"War? Isn't it war?"_

_"That may be true, but I mean what's the worst thing to happen to a country from the inside."_

_"It's a…um…a rebellion...?"_

_"You sound unsure, why's that? Your brother there sounds more confident in his answer then you do."_

_"Hey! Lighten up, it's not her fault she's too afraid to answer you!"_

_"Don't you dare speak back to me like that you waste of space! Do you want to go to bed hungry tonight?!"_

_"No, sir."_

_"Good, and yes, it's a rebellion_ _—do you know why though?"_

_"Because…uh…because…I'm not sure…"_

_"Useless! It's because once a rebellion starts it will not end until either leader is dead and until nothing is left but piles of bodies and blood-drenched streets! You must know this so you can understand what actions are needed when such problems occur in countries, am I wrong?"_

_"N-no, sir."_

_"Worthless trash, all three of you! For your stupidity and lack of answers today, you are to stay in your rooms for the rest of the night. You are not to come out no matter what, do you understand?"_

_"But_ _—"_

_"I said, do you understand?"_

_"Yes, sir."_

"Hey" I blinked my eyes and looked around me, everyone was a little ways ahead of Zoro and me as the swordsman was now staring down at me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you certain you're alright?"

"Yeah" I nodded my head. "Just…thinking..."

"Are you sure?" he pressed on.

"Yeah" it grew silent at that before I heard him sigh and squeeze my hand.

"If you say so, let's go" he mumbled, the both of us now starting to walk as we quickly went to catch up with the others.

-Later-

"I'm burning up, I don't think I can sweat anymore!" Luffy complained as we continued to trudge on through the desert. I couldn't help but silently agree with him as I used my hand in a desperate attempt to fan myself off as sweat continued to build up on my forehead.

"Will you please spare us the melodramatics, Luffy! You're only going to tire yourself out!" Nami frowned. "Geez, I guess he's not listening" she irritably muttered when the rubber man continued to complain.

"How are you not bothered by this heat?" I asked, now directing my attention towards Zoro the minute I noticed that he seemed unfazed by the heat. I didn't get an answer, only an amused look as he stared right back at me.

"What? Are you bothered by the heat?" he asked, snickering when I swatted at him.

"No, I'm just sweating up a storm because I love the heat so much" I sarcastically responded, earning a snort as he shook his head.

"I can't go on...can't take hot weather, I'm fine in cold weather" Chopper rambled, tongued lulled out as he panted while sprawled out over a makeshift sled that Zoro now dragged behind him. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him since he was the only one out of all of us naturally covered in fur.

"It's because of all of that fur, why don't you take off that stupid reindeer costume" Usopp insulted which caused my brows to furrow.

"What did you just say to me, big nose?!" the reindeer sneered as he changed into his human form so he could be eye to eye with Usopp. "Don't make fun of reindeers!"

"Ah! Monster!" Usopp screamed.

"Chopper, don't turn yourself big or I'm going to quit pulling you" Zoro grunted out when he found it was now difficult to pull the sled while the reindeer was in his human form. I was quick to react the minute I heard him say this, wrapping my arms around one of his own and staring up at him with pleading eyes the minute he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're going to quit pulling him, could you at least pull me?" I begged, watching as a smirk now crossed his lips the minute I asked that which in return caused a shiver to rack up my spine. I soon drew back just a little when suddenly he leaned his face down towards mine until I could feel his breath against my ear.

"No, but I wouldn't mind doing something else" he huskily breathed out while lightly nipping at my ear lobe.

"That was very perverted and greatly unnecessary, sir! My virgin ears did not need to hear such vulgar things!" I squealed, harshly pushing him away as he laughed.

"Who are you calling a monster, you big-nosed freak?!" Chopper snapped as he and Usopp were now giving each other such venomous glares.

"You better take it easy on the nose or I'll have to get tough!" Usopp retorted.

"Turn small, will ya!" Zoro growled, irritated with the two as he pushed down on the reindeer's head until he returned to normal size.

"Hey, the desert doesn't seem to bother you much, Vivi" Sanji suddenly pointed out.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

"Well, I was born and raised in this country, so I guess you could say I'm just used to it" Vivi explained.

"That makes sense" I said.

"So, what's with all these hills?" Usopp curiously asked. "I was expecting a desert to be more flat."

"This is an old desert, some of the sand dunes here are over nine hundred feet" the princess answered.

"Nine hundred feet?" Usopp echoed. "Oh my god, no, that's a mountain" he breathed out.

"So...hot...water..." Luffy groaned, his tongue now sticking out of his mouth as he began to pant like a dog before finally he was given one of the few canteens of water we had.

"Just one drink, Luffy—just a mouthful" Nami desperately begged. "Not so much!" she hissed, smacking the back of his head when he started chugging down the canteen of water.

"Idiot! You better save some of that water for Usopp!" Usopp growled, smacking the rubber man on the back of the head as well.

"Well, what did you expect was going to happen when you gave him the canteen?" I asked.

"I expected him to be a rational human being and know how to preserve our water" Nami explained.

"This is Luffy we're talking about, I don't think he understands what "one mouthful" means" I pointed out.

"Well I can hope, can't I?!" she snapped before she and Usopp started arguing with the captain.

"Hold on, you just had some!" Sanji suddenly piped up as he too now joined in on the fighting.

"Stop it you guys, you're only going to wear yourselves out if you keep it up" Vivi said, now trying her best to stop the four from fighting.

"She started it!" Luffy childishly shouted.

"It's your fault!" the navigator defended.

"It's always his fault" Usopp huffed as he agreed with the ginger haired woman.

-Later-

"I'm so hungry!" Luffy whined as we all sat around the campfire that had been built the minute the sun had set and was replaced with the moon.

"Don't be such a greedy pig, it's still raw" Sanji frowned. "Don't eat that!" he snapped the minute the rubber man tried eating something he wasn't supposed to. I yawned, my eyelids now feeling heavy as I leaned my head against Zoro's shoulder—feeling far more tired than hungry at the moment. "Your dinner will be ready in just a minute, Nami" I heard the blond coo out.

"Hey, that looks good" Usopp complimented.

"Warm" was all I muttered as I snuggled closer to the swordsman's side, now heavily relying on his body heat to keep me warm as he wrapped one of his arms around my waist.

"Get away from that!" Sanji snapped, smacking Luffy who was getting a bit too close to the food.

"Jerk, we're starving!" Luffy complained.

"Back off!" the blond growled in return.

"What the heck happened?" Nami asked. "It was so hot all day and now suddenly it's freezing" she chattered as she tightly wrapped her arms around her shaking body in an attempt to warm herself.

"I know it seems strange, but its caused by lack of cloud coverage here" Vivi answered. "With nothing to act as insulation, it's scorching by day and freezing by night—the desert is full of unpredictable dangers" she explained as I finally dozed off.

-Everyone's P.O.V-

"Well, it seems Skylar's found a way to keep herself warm" Nami commented, quietly giggling at the sight of the brunette who was currently curled up against Zoro's side. Her body shivering every now and then which caused the swordsman to fully wrap both his arms around her while making sure that she felt comfortable.

"Ah, just look at those stars" Chopper breathed out in amazement as he stared upwards.

"Couldn't you see the stars back on your island?" Usopp asked while harshly shivering.

"The sky on the winter islands are always covered by snow clouds, so I never been able to see this many before" Chopper explained which caused Zoro's lips to twitch upwards into a small smile that quickly disappeared the moment he heard Skylar whimper as her body now started to violently shake. He couldn't help but wondered what she was exactly dreaming about as he gently began to rub one of his hands up and down her side in a comforting manner while resting his head right on top of her own.

"Don't worry, I'm here" he mumbled before slowly becoming irritated with the racket going on behind him. "Chopper, don't turn big—we have to huddle for warmth" he scowled, continuing to soothingly rub up and down Skylar's side as her shaking slowly started getting worse before finally, she jolted awake.

-Skylar's P.O.V-

I did my best to keep my breathing under control while my heart now rapidly pounded from within my chest thanks to the memories that had decided to plague my dream. But, slowly I started to calm down and relax as said memories now started to fade back into the back of my mind and out of my thoughts.

"It's so cold" I tiredly muttered with a shiver when a harsh wind suddenly blew by. Tiredly rubbing at my eye, I soon pressed my face against the Zoro's chest and wrapped my arms tightly around his body in an attempt to try and feel more of his body heat.

"Woo, so warm!" Luffy loudly cheered from behind Zoro and me.

"Agreed" I hummed while taking in just how warm the moss haired man was. My lips soon twitched upwards though when I suddenly heard his rapid heartbeat thundering away inside his chest. "Your heart's beating really fast, are you excited about something?" I quietly teased while peering up at him which only caused him to smile.

"Maybe" he hummed right back.

"Cuddle closer" Usopp piped up.

"See, isn't this cozy?" Luffy asked.

"Yep, sure is" Zoro smiled as I yawned, already feeling tired once again and with nothing else to do, I decided just to fall right back asleep.

-The Next Day-

"Ah! I found a shrimp!" I was stirred awake by Luffy's loud voice.

"Who has that kind of energy this early in the morning?" I tiredly muttered, guessing it was early morning as there wasn't much light seeping in through the tent flaps. Which only brought up the question of how I got put in this tent in the first place—perhaps Zoro put me in here. Yeah, that makes sense.

"You sure it's a shrimp?" Chopper asked as I stood up and carefully moved around the other two women that had been sleeping in the tent with me. Walking outside of the tent, I stretched my arms upwards and listened to my bones pop. "That's neat."

"But, shrimp don't live in the desert" Usopp pointed out as he, Chopper, and Luffy all seemed to be gathered around one another and looking at something.

"Look" the rubber man said. I couldn't really spot what he was showing off, so out of curiosity I walked over to the three and raised an eyebrow as I attempted to sneak a peek at whatever object they were currently fascinated by.

"I stand corrected, it's a desert shrimp" Usopp said.

"What are you guys looking at?" I asked which finally caught their attention.

"Oh, good morning" Usopp said, as I only nodded my head while still trying to focus on what Luffy had in his hands.

"We found a desert shrimp" Chopper innocently piped up.

"A desert shrimp?" I questioned.

"Yeah, see" Luffy smiled as he held out his hands and allowed me to get a full view of the scorpion he was holding. My breath instantly got caught in my throat the minute I spotted the poisonous pest as the three didn't seem to realize just what it was the captain was holding. "Looks yummy" he suddenly commented.

"I wonder if it's edible" Usopp pondered out loud.

"Why not? Crawfish are edible, aren't they?" Luffy asked.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to eat it" I quickly intervened before any one of them could even try and attempt to eat it. This caused the two of them to tilt their heads while Chopper continued to marvel at the scorpion.

"Hey, I never seen a real-life shrimp before, this is really exciting" he said in wonder just as Vivi finally exited the women's tent.

"Ah! Luffy—are you crazy?!" she shouted the moment she spotted the scorpion in Luffy's hands. "Get rid of that thing, quick!" she frantically cried out.

"Uh-uh, that would be wasteful" Luffy scowled as he shook his head.

"It's still alive, how is that in any way wasteful?" I sweat dropped.

"It's a scorpion, don't let its small size fool you—the poison in its stinger could kill you in seconds" Vivi explained.

"Really? I guess I don't want it then, you?" Luffy asked as he tried to pass off the scorpion to Usopp.

"Hey now, keep that thing away from me!" the long-nosed pirate cried out as Chopper started freaking out.

"Yeah, okay" the rubber man said as he threw the scorpion back and behind him.

"I'm sorry, I should have mentioned it earlier" Vivi quickly apologized.

"That's for sure" Usopp muttered.

"There's no need to apologize, Vivi" I reassured her. "No one would have figured that one of us would just go and pick up a scorpion" I said before humming when I noticed that one of Chopper's ears had suddenly twitched upwards.

"What's wrong? What's going on, Chopper?" Luffy asked, taking notice of the reindeer's behavior as well. Instead of answering, Chopper only climbed up on top of a nearby rock and looked all around the desert plain that surrounded us.

"Something's coming and quick" he suddenly told us.

"Something like what?" Usopp questioned.

"Do you hear something? Is it bad?" I asked.

"Huh? It looks like the wind is picking up" Ace commented the moment he stepped out of the men's tent.

"Everyone! Hide behind the rocks, quick!" Vivi suddenly ordered.

"How come?" Luffy asked.

"A sandstorm is coming!" the princess cried out as she grabbed the front of my robe and pulled me down onto the ground with her.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Luffy gleefully exclaimed.

"In what way is that cool?" I asked, bringing my arms up to shield my eyes from the sand that was harshly being blown around.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

"Okay, enough with the sand already, I'm not impressed anymore!" Luffy demanded, squinting his eyes as he tightly held onto his hat so it wouldn't be blown away.

"I don't think the sand cares if you're impressed or not" I said, squinting my own eyes as the wind seemed to pick up even more.

"I should have mentioned it earlier—sandstorms are another one of the desert's dangers!" Vivi shouted over the roaring wind while using her arms to shield her face from the harsh wind that blew sand in our faces.

"You got to start remembering this stuff!" Usopp screamed just as he was blown back and away. When the storm finally started to calm down, the two tents we had up were now blown down and everything was covered in sand as I found myself feeling disorientated.

"What the hell was that?" Zoro asked as he sat up, knocking off the sand that had buried him. Slowly opening my eyes, I carefully looked all around me before finally directing my gaze downwards as I now noticed that my bottom half was buried underneath the sand. At first, I tried to pull myself out, but after a few seconds of struggling, I sighed and started to dig at the sand pressed against my lower half. I didn't get far before I yelped when I suddenly felt hands grab underneath my arms and pull me out of the sand with ease.

"Thanks" I said, looking up at Zoro with a wide smile.

"That's what friends are for" my ears twitched as I heard him mutter this.

"What did you just say?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat as I mentally argued with myself that this doesn't necessarily mean that he remembers. I mean technically, we're now friends because we're on the same pirate crew.

"I said no problem" he said a little louder this time, causing me to owlishly blink my eyes. Was I just hearing things or had I just simply imagined hearing him say something else? My shoulders seemed to just deflate at such questions as I heaved a sigh before giving him a small smile.

"Can't a guy sleep in?" Sanji complained, finally emerging from the sand along with the others.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Usopp groaned the moment the rubber man kicked more sand in his face as he was trying to get back up and out of the sand.

-Later-

"Hey, Sanji, let's have some more of those box lunches" Luffy suddenly suggested as we were all once again walking through the desert.

"Not yet, not until Vivi says so" the blond responded as he simply brushed Luffy's suggestion off. I couldn't help but lowly whistle as I swung mine and Zoro's arms back and forth since the both of us were once again holding hands.

"Come on, Vivi, how about it? Let's eat, doesn't that sound good?" Luffy asked, attempting to coax the princess into telling Sanji to give out the food.

"But, we're not even a tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy—and we have to make our food last the way there" Vivi argued.

"I'd rather not end up starving to death in the desert for the vultures to eat just because of your gluttony" I said underneath my breath which caused the swordsman beside me to snort upon hearing this.

"That's silly, Vivi, haven't you heard the old proverb?" Luffy frowned. "Make sure you eat whenever you're hungry" he said as he quoted this supposed proverb of his.

"Now hold on a minute, I'm sure that was never a proverb" I sweat dropped.

"Yeah, it is" Luffy defended with the nod of his head.

"Ugh! Quit making things up, you big fat liar!" Usopp grunted as he dragged himself.

"Okay, if you're that hungry, I'll tell you what" Vivi smiled. "Why don't we stop and eat at the next group of rocks we come to?" she offered.

"Alright, rocks it is! Onward to the next group of rocks!" Luffy cheered. "Okay guys, whoever wins at rock, paper, scissors has to carry everybody's stuff!" he suddenly proclaimed.

"Quit deciding things!" Usopp snapped.

"Don't you mean whoever loses carries the stuff?" Sanji questioned.

"Yeah, normally the loser gets the short end of the stick, not the winner" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"And ready...go! Rock, paper, scissors!" Luffy shouted as he ignored everyone.

"Wait!" Sanji snapped.

"Now, hold on!" Nami butted in.

"You started late!" Zoro groaned as the captain burst out laughing.

"Ha! I win!" he happily cheered.

"Idiot!" Nami snapped.

-Later-

"Ah, so heavy!" Luffy whined as he fell behind the group while dragging everyone's stuff. "Why am I doing all the work?" he frowned.

"Don't you remember?" I asked.

"You said winner carries all, now shut up and haul" Sanji added.

"And make sure you don't drop anything" Nami said as I sighed and looked back at our struggling captain.

"It wouldn't hurt to help him, would it?" I whispered, looking back at Zoro who grunted.

"It's his own damn fault, so there's no point in showing him any sympathy" he responded.

"Hey, guys, I spotted rocks straight ahead!" Usopp suddenly shouted.

"You mean it?! It's lunch time!" Luffy cheered as he ran past everyone and towards the directions of the rocks that Usopp had spotted.

"Luffy, not so fast!" the long-nosed pirate cried out before we all heaved a sigh and started to follow after our captain.

"I need help!" it wasn't long after that before we heard the raven-haired man shouting as he suddenly came racing back towards us.

"Eh? Didn't Luffy have something with him earlier?" I asked, noticing that something was missing from his person.

"I think he did" Nami said, examining him as he drew closer.

"That's weird, why is he coming back?" Usopp questioned.

"There's a whole flock of injured birds here that can't move! We need a doctor, Chopper!" Luffy screamed. This caused Chopper's ears to twitch as he heard this which made him quickly hop off the makeshift sled Zoro had been pulling him on so he could run towards Luffy. "Alright, let's go!" the captain turned straight back around once he noticed the reindeer running towards him.

"Coming!" Chopper shouted back at him.

"We got to help those birds!" he proclaimed.

"What birds? Wait a minute, Luffy—those birds might not be who you think they are!" Vivi suddenly called out which caused the rubber man to skid to a halt and look back at her in confusion.

-Later-

"Ah!" Luffy screamed as he frantically turned his head left and right.

"All our stuff is gone!" Zoro grounded out.

"We've been robbed!" Nami wailed.

"But, I saw them! There was a whole flock of dying birds lying right here!" Luffy quickly defended as I patted Vivi's back the minute I saw the dejected look on her face.

"I'm so sorry, I should have mentioned it earlier" she sighed. "Warusagie Birds are desert bandits that deceive travelers and steal their belongings" she explained.

"You got to be kidding me!" Luffy screamed in distress as he harshly clutched his hair.

"Who knew birds could be such savages" I raised an eyebrow. "Or that they had the capability to know how to trick people."

"You mean these birds play dead?" Usopp questioned. "What a lousy bunch of crooks!"

"This is all my fault" Vivi sadly stated.

"Hey now, no one's blaming you, you had no way of knowing that Luffy would have been the one to run into those birds" I tried to comfort her.

"Those birds tricked me!" Luffy growled.

"Luffy, you dolt, is that all you have to say for yourself?" Sanji frowned. "There was three days' worth of supplies in those packs and you had to go off and let a bunch of stupid birds rob us blind in the middle of the desert! How are we supposed to get across this wasteland without food or water?!" he growled as he grabbed the front of Luffy's robe. "I hope you're proud of yourself!"

"Come on, it's not my fault—they outsmarted me!" Luffy defended.

"You mean you're dumber than a bird!" Sanji sneered while getting closer to the rubber man's face.

"Look, the human body can go without food for a maximum of three weeks" I pointed out. "Our only real problem is water, something we really can't go without for long" I said.

"What's that?" Luffy snapped after processing the insult the blond had thrown at him.

"Are you two even listening?!" I snapped.

"They're too caught up in their fighting to even listen to anything we have to say" Nami grumbled.

"Tell me about it" I huffed while crossing my arms.

"Knock it off you two" Zoro said as he tried to stop the two that were currently fighting.

"No, you're not that smart" Sanji ignored Zoro as he gave a comeback to whatever it was Luffy had just said to him.

"Just save your energy, at times like this, it's better to let them have at it" Ace said as he simply brushed off the two.

"Fine with me" Zoro sighed as he removed the hood of his robe and plopped down onto a nearby rock. "Let's just take a break, this heat is starting to wear on everybody's nerves, I'm sure we'll manage food and water wise—it's nothing that will kill us right away—let's just put it out of our minds for now" he said as I wandered over towards him and took a seat on the rock as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Things to Remember:  
> 1.) This story was originally written back in 2014 and though it has gone through many touch-ups through the years, I make no promises that it's all that good. It's being written for fun, I just wanted to share it with you all on here. I'll admit, I ain't that great at writing the fight scenes and I mainly like to put more of a focus on the emotions and interactions of the characters with my OC when I have a chance. Also, this will probably be my only story on my account that's not a Reader Insert...maybe if you all like Skylar I may post more stories with her on here.
> 
> 2.) Skylar was originally meant to be a Kingdom Hearts OC, when I got into One Piece and started wanting to write a One Piece fanfic, I decided to use her. I was so used to writing Cloud and Sora as her brothers that I brought them along with (though they are written more like a mixture of their fanfic counterparts and my own interpretation of them that you could argue that they're just OCs inspired both by name and look-wise to their game counterparts...).
> 
> 3.) A lot of things you see here, in the beginning, do eventually get explanations later on in the story—a lot of clarifications do happen in later chapters that correspond with these earlier chapters. So that's something to keep in mind—if you see something that you feel isn't greatly clarified then chances are it gets clarified later on in another chapter.
> 
> 4.) Since this story is posted on FF.N and Wattpad that means you can find all the other chapters on those sites (I'm currently up to 337) if you don't want to patiently wait for me to post them here. There may be some slight touch-ups to chapters (mainly just fixing placements of commas or misspelled words that were overlooked) so don't be startled and think this story is stolen. It's not, as far as I'm aware, I'm the only one posting it to all three of my accounts which are under the same name.
> 
> 5.) Lastly, as I said, this story may not be the greatest thing in the world but I really do enjoy writing it and I do kind of just want to share it. Maybe some of you will like it and maybe some of you won't. But either way, I hope that you somewhat enjoy what I have and understand that this story was written back when I was still new to writing and still trying to find my way. There will be mistakes no matter how much I try and fix it and I'm not afraid to admit that. This is my first long story and it was written for fun—it's a story not meant to greatly change the course of the main OP story, but instead its a story of a young girl going on an adventure and sort of just finding herself and learning to grow and accept things. A story of mainly friendship and moving forward with a nice touch of romance. If that makes sense.


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